Treasure Planet: Makings of Greatness
by DalenChip
Summary: It's about a young girl charting her own course and what she encounters along the way. I'm writing a story about treasure planet with a bit of a twist. I gender-swapped the main character and I'm making changes to elements of the original universe and base story so that I can make it something unique that I haven't seen done yet. Hope you enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

Ch#1— An itch to scratch.

Freedom. Untethered by gravity, people, the past, and the future; nothing but the blanket of stars and nebulas and galaxies. She basked in the beauty of the universe moving around her. She was moving but she didn't quite know where she was going; drifting through the cosmos to some unknown destination. She felt the solar winds moving around her body; rustling through her clothes and pushing back her hair out of her face.

She felt herself slowing down finally as a brilliant spiral galaxy drew closer; seeming to grow in size because of the shrinking distance. Her eyes scanned across the spiraling arms filled with innumerable stars and planets and lifeforms.

"Andromeda." The young girl said quietly to the empty space around her, then continuing with a half-amused tone in her voice; "Who would name a kid after a galaxy?" Although she said that, she had always felt a strange connection to the celestial body. Continuing to ponder this strange feeling, the young woman stared quietly at her name-sake; the solar winds rustled through her clothes once more and blew her golden hair across her face.

"Huh?" She said to herself as she brushed the hair out of her face and took hold of a handful of glowing, golden hair. "Why is it—"

"Miss Hawkins." A faint voice said in the distance. She looked around for it's source but found that she was still alone.

Again the voice came, but louder this time, slightly rumbling through the cosmos around her. "Miss Hawkins." She looked around, confused. Then it came again, very loud.

"Miss Hawkins!" The young woman was pulled abruptly from her peaceful observation of the galaxy as her eyes snapped open. Her sight was immediately met with the bright lights of the classroom as she nearly fell out of her chair when she jolted upright. She looked around, trying to remember where she was.

"Nice of you to join us, Miss Hawkins." Said a disapproving voice in front of her desk. She look up to find her balding history teacher, Mr. Bourdon, looking down at her over his glasses. The students around her stifled giggles and watched in semi-silent amusement.

"No problem, chrome-dome." She said with a sleepy smile. Immediately the classroom around her erupted in the laughter of all of the students as the stuffy, balding, history teacher turned red as a beet with his mouth hanging open— aghast at her words.

'Oh shit.' The young woman thought as she processed what she had just said. She had mistakenly called the teacher by the secret nickname the students had dubbed him with.

"Miss Hawkins—" Came the teacher's angry voice as he began to recover from his momentary shock; only to be cut short by the bell ringing— signaling the end of class and the end of the school day. The classroom was thrown into slight chaos as the students began quickly gathering up their things and running out the door, eager to start their weekend.

Mr. Bourdon was distracted from his previous embarrassment as he tried futilely to pass information about homework to the kids who were no longer paying attention.

"Wait, wait! Read chapter 15 by Monday! Don't forget to finish your study guides!" Looking around the classroom that was rapidly hemorrhaging students into the hallway as he spoke. "The final with be on Friday, don't forget to study and then fail the test. You don't want to do anything that would hold you back from graduating!" He finished to the room, only populated by a few straggling students.

He turned back to the empty desk of the class troublemaker and released a defeated sigh. "Of course she is already gone." He said as his hand came up to the top of his head to rest on the balding dome. "It's not that bad…is it?" he grumbled to the now completely empty classroom.

—

The very same troublemaker was now making her way, outside of town and down a long dirt road to her home. Her destination was sitting on a hill adjacent a cliff with a ship dock jutting out into the open air. The young woman passed an old wooden sign, marked with the faded letters _**Benbow Inn**_. The multiple story building looked a little run down but, it was still sturdy and had a comfortable, familiar feel. As she came closer she saw her mother, Sarah Hawkins, in the garden picking vegetables to prepare for the dinner rush.

Her mother smiled and waved when she saw her daughter coming up the road, "How was school, Julie?" The older woman called out.

Julie waved back. "Good, mom." She quickly yelled in response before running inside to drop her stuff in her room.

After she threw her school bag onto her bed, Julie ran down the stairs and out to the back to the work shed. She opened the shed and approached her workbench, stopping for a second to look over her solar surfer that she had been working on the night before. She touched the key points she had been tinkering with to make sure everything was ready for flight.

After a few moments the young woman lifted the board and exited the shed, kicking the door closed with her boot. Julie was glad that her mother had all but given up on making her dress like a girl. Julie was in her usual outfit that consisted of pants, boots, a long sleeve shirt, and a big jacket; not so girly or pretty looking but, perfect for temperatures experienced in the air. Flowery dresses and bright pastel colors had always made her feel trapped, in a stuffy and uncomfortable feeling. So, much to the dismay of her mother, Julie had simply opted for boyish clothes because they felt more comfortable and didn't feel like they were suffocating her.

Julie activated the solar sail, stepped on and hit the accelerator with her back foot— causing the board to shoot off the unpopulated dock into open air. She tested out her newly put together aircraft to make sure it was airworthy. After putting it through a few minor maneuvers she decided she needed to test it out at higher altitudes. With a smile beaming from her face she turned back toward the Inn and whipped around the side and went inverted over the garden where her mother looked up at her in momentary shock.

"I am going to go fly for a little bit mom!" She said, waving from where she dangled from the inverted aircraft that was speeding over the garden. Sarah couldn't even get a word out before the 17 year old girl had righted the aircraft and zoomed away, out of hearing distance.

"Guess it is just me handling the dinner rush alone then." She huffed, slightly exasperated at her daughter's behavior. Ever since she had gotten into her teens and found that old solar surfer Julie had been chomping at the bit for every chance to use it. Sarah was actually quiet proud of her daughter; she had pretty much taken a piece of junk and made it fly. Mechanically she seemed to have preformed some kind of miracle that Sarah couldn't quiet understand. Sarah had never had a head for mechanical things but Julie seemed to have an unquenchable thirst for it.

"She seems to take strongly after John I suppose." She said with a bittersweet smile, as she walked back to the Benbow. She set the heavy load of freshly picked vegetables on the kitchen counter and looked out the window to the shed that had been built by the husband she hadn't seen in over ten years. She silently reminisced over happy memories of the three of them while she hummed; washing and cutting the vegetables.

—

Freedom. She had found it once again just like in her dream.

That is the only way she could describe this thrilling feeling in her chest. This is what she had been longing for throughout the week of being stuck in classes. Everything faded into the background as the wind whipped through her clothes and pushed her short brown hair, peppered with streaks of blonde, back behind her. She pushed her board upwards into the white puffy clouds above the dusty canyon that was far outside of town.

Of course she knew that taking a solar powered vehicle into a cloud where very little sunlight could power it would be considered very foolish, but one of the modifications she had made to her solar surfer had been a reserve power unit that gave her more than enough energy to operate at full throttle for at least 45 minutes without sunlight— instead of the usual 10-15. She had been experimenting with it for sometime and had only recently had a breakthrough.

Julie popped out of the top of the cloud and into the warm sunlight once again. Her clothes were damp due to traveling through the cloud but, she knew they would air dry pretty quickly while she continued running her aircraft through testing maneuvers. Once the her clothes were dry again the young aviator pushed the nose of the craft upwards with an excited smile. She rose high and higher feeling the air getting colder and starting to bite at her exposed skin— turning her nose and cheeks pink.

She leveled had just passed 3,000 meters when she felt the thrusters start to cough and shudder. To anyone but the most experienced pilots, the moment the engine finally failed would have been the most terror inducing thing they could experience. However, the young woman calmly flipped the solar sail back into the board, closed her eyes and spread her arms as she began to plummet back down back down towards the puffy white clouds and the ground below.

This was one of the things Julie would always love about being in the air; free-fall.

Letting go of everything while you gain speed, pulled by the gravity of the planet toward its hard and rocky surface. She opened her eyes to find herself inverted once again with the board that was attached to her feet catching air. She looked down and saw the clouds approaching so she took a deep breath and decided she should probably start the engine and recover to normal flight.

However, when she hit the starter, the thruster coughed but refused to ignite. Adrenaline shot through her as she realized she was in a very bad position, but she did the only thing she could do— cranked the starter over and over in a desperate attempt to get power back. She continued to plummet into the clouds as she banged on the engine with her fist. She didn't have the time or the tools to crack it open to find the issues while falling.

"Come on you stupid fucking thing!" She yelled as she was enveloped in the wet darkness of the interior of the cloud. She exited the cloud and saw the bottom of the canyon below her. The distance continued to shrink as she closed her eyes and punched the engine with all of her might. With less than 25 meters to the ground the engine roared to life and made her pop her eyes open and begin to turn the board at the last second so that she wasn't reduced into a pile of meat against the ground.

She managed to get control and turn just enough to skim right above the ground and avoid death. She couldn't stop the eccentric smile from coming across her face and the yell of triumph from erupting from her throat; echoing through the canyon as she sped right over the top of what would have been her final resting place.

"WOOOOOOOOOOHHOOOOOOOOOO!" She continued to yelled out as she turned the board upwards to punch through the clouds once more. Julie popped out of the top of the cloud and leveled out into a controlled cruise and began laughing uncontrollably; to any sane person it would appear she had gone somewhat insane.

"That was pretty fucking close." The young woman said to herself as she took her boots out of the secure places on the board and sat down, letting her feet dangle off the side in the open air. She let her heart rate come back to normal as she watched the sun sink closer to the horizon. She made a mental note to look back over the connections on starter and the engine once she got back while she drifted quietly above the sea of clouds that was beginning to tint from the setting sun.

While silently watching the setting sun paint the sky a myriad of colors she thought back to her dream. Julie took hold of a handful of her hair and looked at it, wondering just what that dream had been about. In recent years she had noticed her hair adopting streaks of blonde; at first she had thought it was just the sun starting to finally bleach it, but this looked different.

Even now it felt like she could see it shimmer, but convinced herself it was just an effect of the now golden sunlight— enveloping everything around her in comforting glow. She didn't notice that her usually amber eyes now shimmered with the same golden color as her hair. She let the thoughts continue to bounce around her head as she focused back on the sunset's warm light.

She had thought about talking to her mother about it but, with how embarrassing their talks had been when she had gotten her first period and then 'birds and the bees' talk— she told herself it was better to just to leave those kinds of things in the past. "It's just my hair color changing, it's no big deal…" Julie said, trying to ignore the knot that had settled in her stomach.

—

Julie was getting ready to head home after the sun finally disappeared under the clouds when she heard another solar surfer puff out of the clouds nearby, carrying a familiar figure. She smiled and waved as the handsome young man came towards her, with a smile that made her insides flutter with a light feeling of butterflies.

He slowed down as he got closer and threw out a greeting; "Well fancy seeing you here, love. Thought I was gonna find a stain on the canyon floor after I saw you in free-fall that close to the ground." His voice was smooth and flirty and she knew he had a reputation as a player but, Julie couldn't help but enjoy the attention. Most boys around her had always seen her as another guy. Even when she started to develop and become more attractive like her mother; pretty much no one even thought twice about a girl who drank, fought, and cursed like a spacer— and of course flew like she had a death wish.

Matty was different though, he could keep up with her— mostly. He had a habit of trying to fuck everything with a pulse but, the attention still felt good.

"You know me, Matty— I always manage to come out on top." She responded in a light flirting tone. Her words pulled a laugh in agreement from him as she got up on her board and they started flying back towards town together, while talking.

"Sooooo…me and the guys were planning a little fun tonight in up-town…you want in?" he said, in a lower voice. "Score should be pretty good, with how good you are."

Julie mulled it over for a few minutes before she spoke; "Sounds like fun but, I don't know…I'm not really part of your…'group' so I don't think the other guys appreciate me being there and showing them up— especially your big boss man."

Matty rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, they like you; its not like the offer to join us isn't still open. And you shouldn't worry about Ed, he is totally cool."

Julie let out a sigh. "I don't know man. He kinda gives me a bad feeling; he ain't even from around here and he gets a little too aggressive sometimes even when I tell him to back off." Ed had been one of the only other guys to show interest in her as a woman but, unlike Matty who never got too serious or aggressive with the flirting— Ed just came on too strong and it gave her the creeps.

"Relax, we aren't gonna be sitting around drinking this time. Everyone will be focused on grabbing whatever they can to fill their pockets. You could make some serious coin too, Ed's the one who got the 'fence' up in the space port." Julie released another sigh and agreed.

"I guess I could use the money for some more stuff for my solar surfer." She said, then adding with an excited smile; "Maybe another tattoo on top of that."

"Another one, huh?" Matty said with a flirty smile, "You still haven't even shown me your first one."

She looked back at him and biting her lip, she responded, "Well if I get enough for the next one tonight, maybe I will show you— If you're lucky." Shooting a wink at him over her shoulder. He raised an eyebrow and laughed. "Sounds fun."

Julie followed him as he turned his solar surfer off to the side and lead them down towards an alleyway right outside of the rich side of town that was full of big, nice houses and upper class shops. This planet was called Ceres; it had always been a very lowly populated mining planet so most of the miners, machine operators, and foremen— who were lower wage-earners— had lived in the 'less than great' part of town; while the owners of the mines and land had built an up-class section that was always exclusive to those who had more money than anyone would know what to do with.

Matty and Julie left their solar surfers in hiding spots and covered them in garbage and random things that were in the area, so no one would find them and steal them— or so the cops couldn't confiscate their means of escape if things went sideways. Once they were hidden well enough— they continued up the dark alleyway until they found the group of young men accompanied by a few of the more promiscuous girls in the town, that were currently dressed in the least amount of clothes possible.

Julie rolled her eyes as the girls gave her annoyed looks and the guys all threw out friendly greetings to the pair— tossing a bottle of alcohol to Julie, who took a long draw and then tossed it over to Matty who followed suit. All of the people present, which wasn't more than 10, were around the 16-18 years of age— with one 20 year old who acted as the ring leader for their gang.

Besides Julie, everyone was part of a shitty little gang that Ed had decided to organize them into about 6 months before— they had named themselves something stupid and kept changing the name but it always ended up sounding lame.

'What was the last thing they settled on?' She thought to herself as she took another swig of the burning liquid and pick-pocketed a pack of cigarettes off of the person she passed it to, while they were busy up-ending the bottle.

"Hey _Drifters_ , gather 'round; we are gonna go over the target we are gonna hit. And of course you as well, sexy, why don't you come right up here next to me?" Ed stated, first to the group and then to her with a look that made her skin crawl. She walked over to the group and stood on the opposite side from Ed and answered his offer with a middle finger as she put a cigarette in her mouth with the other hand and lit it.

Ed, after a few laughs at their interchange sounded from the group, waved her off and yelled for them to be quiet as he explained what they were doing. "Alright everybody, this is gonna be the biggest score yet. We are hitting Mayor Janus' house." Everyone who was listening made shocked faces and a few of the girls let out over exaggerated gasps and clung onto a nearby male.

Julie would have rolled her eyes again, if she had been paying any attention to them, but that wasn't going to happened because she was currently thinking of an excuse to bail out of this stupid venture.

The Mayor of this town— who happened to be the owner of the palladium mine that was the planet's main source of revenue— was one of the richest and most pompous people around. However, pissing him off would pretty much mean you would have to flee the planet— maybe even the system.

The estate had a 24/7 police presence along the outskirts and armed private security on the interior. Ed could see the hesitation written on everyone's face as he continued; "Tonight is his giant party for the start of his reelection run. Every rich asshole around the planet is gonna be in his backyard drinking themselves into a bender. The house and his personal safe will be unguarded and we are gonna clean them out; while he is busy kissing ass to every guest who is coming."

Julie let out a heavy sigh. She had to admit it would be a pretty great score and the security would be mostly focused on the party, but it was extremely risky. She spoke up to Ed and the rest of the group. "Well, since you don't need 7 people to hit one house, I'll keep myself busy hitting the shit ton of empty houses that have minimal security." She said as she started to back away.

"Hey, don't even think about it!" Ed yelled over the murmuring of the group. "You are gonna be the _primary_ on this one, you are the best infiltrator we have. We may not need everyone but we need at least a few more for a distraction— just incase things go wrong."

Julie clenched her fists and kept her tone even as she responded; "I don't know if you forgot, _**Edward**_ , but I ain't part of your gang. I didn't come out of some sense of loyalty to your stupid ass or your goals; I came to make money and it sounds like I am the one risking my ass the most— so if you want me to do this job, it ain't gonna be cheap."

After thinking for a moment, the gang leader stepped through the group and spoke in an annoyed tone; "Alright, fine. You ain't one of us; so I'll give you a 10% cut of what you take. It will probably be over 30K, so that should be enough for you." He turned back and walked away from her but, stopped when he her her speak up in a cocky voice.

"50%"

Ed whipped back around and leveled an incredulous gaze at her as she let a snarky smirk come across her face. She knew she had him by the balls; this plan relied on her to get it done, without her it had a significantly greater chance of failure and frightening consequences that would ensue.

"15%" He responded, tightly. "You know 50% is too much, we need money to build some of the gang's assets."

"Fine 30%. You should have enough to buy yourselves some fancy nipple tassels and enough wood to build a fun little treehouse." Julie responded, rolling her eyes as he huffed at her words.

"20%, and it isn't for stupid shit— we need it to get some stuff."

"25%, I get that your old dildo got worn out but, the simple truth is— this job doesn't get done without me. 25% or I walk." She said, settling a little higher than she initially thought she would.

"Fine, 25% but no more fucking around we get in and get out; no drama." then he added with a creepy smile and a leering look, "You know if you learned to control that mouth of yours and dressed like a girl once in a while— I'm sure you would make a nice piece of ass, at least a lot more than you do right now."

She clenched her teeth and fists as her anger flared. "You better learn to control your own mouth or I'm out of here you, _**sack of fucking shit.**_ "

His words poked at a sensitive nerve, and made her want to spit in his face and call him every slur in the book, but she wasn't exactly sure that was a good idea. He was a shit-head but, he was a big shit-head and she knew he was pretty good in a fight.

Julie was physically fit and more than just good in a fight but he had a few inches and about 50 lbs on her. She saw his hands tighten into fists as he looked at her dangerously. They were teasing at the edge of outright aggression and everyone around them could feel it; not many people dared to go against Ed in public— even fewer would ever outright insult him to his face. Before she had gotten away with saying things in a casual and joking tone, and never overtly pushing the boundary but, her last words left no room for joking or amusement. No one made a move while a tense silence gripped the alleyway.

She made a quick plan to to throw a few distracting strikes and try to immobilize him momentarily with a swift kick to the groan before escaping back to her hidden solar surfer. Her heart was beating rapidly as she clenched her fists and readied herself incase he moved to attack her, but was thrown off when she heard him let out a laugh and throw his head back.

"I have to admit, you got fire." He turned around and walked back towards the other end of the group but, added over his shoulder with a dark look on his face, "and while thats admirable, you should be careful who you use it against." He then took a swig from a nearby bottle and went about explaining the different roles the others were gonna play. Julie relaxed her stance as her heart rate slowed.

After he was done explaining the plan, which she was barely paying attention to, everyone started to go off their separate ways to get ready. Matty walked up to her and they walked back to their solar surfers together in the half light of the alleyway.

"Julie, you really gotta learn how to pick your fights a little bit more carefully. Ed isn't someone you want to fuck around with." Matty said, quietly.

She just huffed and waved him off. "I told you I don't like him, now he is trying to force me under his thumb and I'm not gonna sit back and let him." Her voice changed and became a little more quiet and serious. "Matty…I might be done with stuff like this for a while after this job…he's pushing into more dangerous territory and I don't know if I want to get involved with the kind of heat that it will bring." She looked over at him as they stopped by their boards. "I won't start trying to tell you what to do or who to hang out with but just…be careful."

The young man gave her a small smile and a playful punch in the arm. "Don't worry Julie, I'll be fine— even if you are finally getting tired of doing stupid shit and getting into trouble with us." His small joke made her smile and punch him back before grabbing her board.

"I don't think I could ever get tired of doing stupid shit with you guys." She said warmly, as the two carried their boards through the back alleyways of shops and made their way into the up-town section of town, towards the Mayor's estate.

—

"This isn't going to work."

"Oh come on, you've used a chimney to get into places before." The young man said, his voice muffled slightly by the cloth pulled over his face— meant to hide his features. Matty was laying next to her in the dried out brush as they surveyed the best route for her to reach the main residence. The plan was to memorize the patrols of the security and slip through an opening to the house.

"Not into the Mayor's personal office, after slipping by a shit load of armed guards and cops. I can handle chimneys, but the rest of the shit is starting to add up." She said as she finally identified a hole in the overlapping patrols. The guards were distracted by the party going on so they were spread more thinly on this side of the estate; a guard that passed by had actually been grumbling about not getting to eat the food at the party, loud enough for them to easily hear.

"Don't even worry about it. I will be talking to you through the headset the whole time; if anything goes wrong, we set off the distraction at the party to pull the guards away and we haul ass to our boards. No problem." Julie just rolled her eyes and let out an annoyed huff. Her stomach was churning with nerves but she couldn't help but feel a bit excited; she had always had an thing for adrenaline-inducing activities, and criminal behavior usually fulfilled that itch nicely. She had never really cared all that much about the money but, it let her buy better equipment for her solar surfer and let her finally get a small tattoo that if her mother found out about would probably lead to her being kicked out.

At the thought of her mother she felt a worm of guilt wiggle it's way into her mind. Julie knew that she should have gone home to help with the dinner rush, but instead she was out here in the dark pushing the envelope on criminal behavior once again.

A thought drifted— uninvited— into her head; 'Does she even really know who I am?'

She let her eyes fall to her hands while she played with a blonde strand of hair. 'Do I?'

She was pulled from her thoughts by a nudge from Matty's elbow. "You ready?" he said, in a whisper. She nodded her head silently and tied her hair back, then fixed a knitted hat/beanie she had been given by Matty to hide her unique hair along with the small communications headset on her head. The young woman pulled a dark colored bandana over her face and tied it off; She slipped off her favorite jacket so that she only had on a black shirt along with her brown pants and boots. She also slipped on a small bag that was made so that it would stay tight against her back even when it was full. She settled in once again, pulling on a pair of gloves that would make sure she didn't transfer any finger prints to anything inside, after she passed her jacket to her friend— she readied herself.

All thoughts of anything but the task at hand faded into the background as she waited for the 'hole' to appear. She saw it open up when the patrols were momentarily out of sight.

She darted towards the outer wall and climbed up, dropping silently to the ground on the other side. Ducking into a line of shrubs when guard stopped and looked back in her direction, wondering to himself if he was just imagining the small noises she had made when she was climbing the wall. When he didn't hear anymore noises he turned and went back to his set path, grumbling about all the appetizers he was missing out on.

Julie sat in the bush breathing as quietly as possible before rushing back out through the next opening towards the house. When she finally reached the wall of the large house, after repeating the same process of hiding and then darting out through another opening, she immediately scrambled up the side to avoid another patrol turning the corner.

The thief pulled herself against the wall as the guard came closer and passed below her, oblivious to the young girl holding her breath above his head. Once he turned the corner of the house on the other side, she continued climbing until she pulled herself over the ledge onto the roof— 5 stories from the ground.

"Good job, you made it through the hardest part, no sweat." Came the quiet voice over the headset into her ear.

"Yea, now I just need to slide down the chimney to his office and hope no one decides they want to light a fire in it." She whispered in response, making her way across the roof— stepping carefully so as not to cause any creaks or shifts in the roof that would be heard in the house. The roof was dark and difficult to navigate but once she located to designated chimney she climb up and peeked down to make sure there wasn't a fire going at the bottom.

She let out a sigh of relief when she saw that the shaft was dark and inactive. "Entry is dark; I am going in."

"Alright, good luck." said Matty's voice over the headset. Julie slipped into the chimney feet first and slowly felt around until she found good footholds that would support her weight. She took one last look around before disappearing completely into the darkness of the shaft. The chimney she was climbing in was made out of brick so it gave her a wide array of much needed hand and footholds to support her venture. The brick inside of the dark shaft was still relatively clean; seems as if the Mayor had only ever actually used the fireplace in his office once or twice— most likely for the aesthetic rather than the warmth. No doubt the mansion had a good heat and air-conditioning so there was no real purpose for the chimney besides the vanity of the owner.

She approached the bottom and held for a second to listen for any voices or movement coming from inside the office. When she heard nothing she looked down and saw that the light was off as well; thus she concluded the office was in fact empty and went down the rest of the way and slipped into the dark office.

Julie stood and looked around the office; the entire office was covered in a dark reddish-brown wood. The name of the rare and expensive wood escaped her as she shook her head and refocused on finding the valuables. The office was rather large and had multiple objects lining tables and set on the walls; they were paintings, antique weapons, vases, and other boring things that rich people had a habit of collecting. Julie was perplexed by the apparent need, in rich people and the mayor specifically, to hoard useless shit that costs oodles of money for no reason other than to look at it while it collected dust.

Julie's own philosophy on money was rather simple; buy shit that is useful or fun. Most of the things were too boring and too big to fit in her bag anyhow, but one thing stood out. A mannequin dressed in the strange clothes with a sword and laser pistol hanging off a harness around the waist with a strap traveling across the torso and over the opposite shoulder then back down across the back to reconnect to the waist again. Julie slowed to a stop and looked the figure up and down.

'Why the fuck does the mayor have something like this?' The young thief thought to herself while she looked at the vaguely familiar clothing. 'Isn't this a pirate?'

The figure was larger than most of the men she had seen and the face was longer and differently shaped than a human's would be— so it obviously wasn't human, but she couldn't quite make out what race it was. Even though it was only a mannequin— the figure had an intimidating air about it but, also struck her with familiar feeling that teased at an old and hazy memory.

On impulse she took the harness with the weapons attached to it and fastened it around her waist and over her shoulder along with a dagger and sheath that was in the boot. She set the large hat on her head with a small laugh and moved around. After she had fastened everything in place the young woman walked over to the desk, adorned with her newly stolen items; she shuffled through the drawers looking for anything valuable— but found nothing of interest. Except for a little bit of money which she quickly pocketed.

'He's gotta have a safe somewhere around here with his good stuff.' She thought to herself. Turning and looking on the wall behind the desk, she saw a large painting of the overweight and pompous Mayor.

"No way…that would be too obvious." She whispered to the empty room as she pushed the painting to the side; immediately seeing that her suspicions were right. There was a large safe set in the wall behind the painting. She rolled her eyes and went to work to crack the combination; which didn't take very long since she found the combination written on a note stuck to the underside of the large wooden desk.

'This guy is a fucking idiot. Must think he is untouchable because of the security outside and because he has most of those rich snobs in his pocket.' The young thief thought to herself as she pulled open the door and started to plunder the valuables inside.

Even though she still hated Ed, she had to thank him silently; this would be one hell of a take. The mayor's safe held a pretty large assortment of cash, gold, and jewelry— much of which looked old and antique like; which meant it could fetch a higher price. After stowing away the valuables into her bag and sliding it onto her back, she looked back into the safe and picked up some papers that she had almost forgotten about in her rush to snatch anything that looked valuable.

It was a bit hard to read most of the documents in the dark; some looked official and some were hand written. The handwritten ones drew her attention more and she moved over to the light of the window to read them, but even then she wasn't exactly sure of what she was reading. Most, seemed to be written testimonies of sightings of some kind of planet and then the possible locations of something like a key to a door. Her face was scrunched together in confusion until she stopped on a sketch of a small round orb with lines that connected to circles crisscrossing the surface— somewhat resembling some constellations that gave her a strange feeling.

Underneath the drawing was just two words— ' _ **The Key**_.'

"Doesn't look like a key…" she said out loud. She was pulled abruptly from her musings when she heard faint voices in the hallway outside of the office door. 'Fuck' She thought to herself as she shoved the papers into her pants pocket without thinking and closed the empty safe, sliding the painting back into place.

"I have the party favors and I am about to make my exit but their is someone coming towards the office to spoil the fun. If I key the mike twice, I need you to set off the distraction so I can slip out without them knowing until it's too late." Julie said as she ducked back into the fireplace and began to climb up the shaft towards the opening on the top.

"Got it, get out of there. I'll tell rest to be ready." Her friend responded, slightly easing the tension in her stomach. She began to feel rain light rain drops falling from the opening in the top of the chimney. When She had been flying earlier she had figured it would end up raining during the night but, thought she would be inside by that time. She continued climbing, trying futilely to control the large weirdly shaped hat that sat on her head.

The young thief frozen when she heard the door to the office open and the voices got louder. She looked down and saw the lights flicker on.

She quietly listened to the voices for a moment, steady and silent as a stone while she set her feet into footholds, feeling the rain drops lightly wetting her shirt and the bicorn hat she had taken on impulse.

The first voice that bounced up the walls of the shaft was male; she figured he must have been some assistant from the way he was talking. "Yes, yes. Everything is set to be transferred to the gentleman upon his delivery. He has the package and will be here in two weeks time."

The Mayor's voice responded, "Good, make sure we have someone to meet him; I will plan something like another campaign fund raiser or something so I can have the alibi, should his delivery draw the attention of any… _undesirables_." The assistant voiced his agreement before the Mayor continued; "Finally…I'm so close; all thats left is to charter a ship to find—" His voice stopped and she heard foot steps across the room.

"Kenneth, did you track these shoe-marks across my office?" The mayor said, soundly a little annoyed. Julie's stomach sank as she keyed the mike on her headset twice; hoping Matty was listening carefully. Had she been able to she would have used words, since it would obviously be much more clear, but if she made any sound— it would echo off the brick sides of the shaft and alert the two in the room of her presence.

"No, sir!" The assistant said, indignantly. "I never stepped in anything— otherwise I would have been tracking it through the halls." Then after a short pause, he continued. "Sir, this appears to be a boot print as well and neither of us have—" His words were interrupted by a loud bang from the behind the house at the party. It was immediately followed by a chorus of screams and confused yelling.

Julie heard both of the men rush out of the room to see what was going on and as soon as they were gone she was scrambling up towards the top, ignoring the rain drops that were coming down faster. Although she slipped and almost lost her grip on the now wet and slick sides of the chimney, she made it to the top and poked her head out to cast a rapid glance around.

Seeing no one around still, she pulled herself out of the hole and moved over to the side of the roof that she had come up; she continued to hear a large amount of noise from the other side of the house, now including the voice of the Mayor— trying in vain to calm his guests. She ignored everything else and looked over the space that had been previously riddled with patrolling guard; seeing that it was now mostly empty.

Wasting no time, the young and adrenaline fuel thief, carefully made her way low enough down the side of the house until she got impatient and jumped about 5 meters from the bottom. She was only vaguely worrying about the level of noise she was emitting as she darted through the various greenery of the yard, that was most likely some kind of manicured garden.

She reached the outer wall and climbed it, hearing a guard yell out in her direction— telling her to stop. The young woman, did exactly the opposite, jumping down and sprinted to where her friend was hiding behind an outcropping of rocks. When she finally saw him he jumped up and came into place next to her; now they were both running as fast as they could towards where they had stashed their solar surfers.

"She is out!" Matty yelled after switching to a different frequency that Ed and the rest of the guys must have been on. "Get everybody out of there!"

The two continued to run and Matty finally commented on her newly acquired attire; "When did you suddenly decide to start dressing like a pirate?" His amused voice said, words slightly broken apart by the need to breath harder while running. She threw her head back in laughed and said back to him without breaking her stride; "Mayor's office had a bunch of antique stuff in it and apparently he has a thing for pirates!"

They skidded to a stop when they finally reached their boards; the noise from the engines were usually pretty loud so they had set them up with plenty of distance to slip off, unnoticed, into the night. Julie slipped the bag off her back and tossed it to her cohort and grabbed her board after she slipped back on her big black jacket that he threw over to her.

"You coming back with me to the hideout?" Matty said, slipping the bag over his shoulder and grabbing his own board.

"Nah, I have to head back to the Inn; my mom is gonna give me an earful for letting her work the dinner rush alone…again." She responded, feeling more than a little guilty.

"That seems a little far for the battery life on these things, J." Matty said.

"Well that would normally be the case, especially for chumps like you _but_ , I happened to find a way to extend my boards battery life pretty significantly— so I won't have a problem." She said with a mocking smirk, as he shook his head in disbelief. She started the engine and secured her feet in place before speeding down the canyon through the rain, with Matty fast on her heels.

The young criminals weaved back and forth along the bottom of the canyon, racing and trying to knock each other off playfully before they came to the point where they had to split up. Matty waved to her and yelled as he turned off in the direction of the Drifter's hideout; "You look pretty good as a pirate by the way— probably your true calling. Maybe one day I'll be calling you _Captain Hawkins, Scourge of the Cosmos!_ " He said the last part with over the top expressions and mimed movements of shielding himself from an imaginary terror to illustrate his joke.

She just waved an laughed back, "Yea, maybe you will!"

As she saw her friend disappear into the rain she turned her board in the direction of her home and then turned upwards and shot up through the raining clouds; bursting out of the top into a star filled night sky. She couldn't hold back another yell from thundering from her throat as he hair began to glow underneath the hat she had on, unknown to her.

"WWWWOOOOOOOHHOOOOOOOOO!" Her excitement and adrenaline that was still pumping through her veins began to gradually slow down and she smiled and watched the, muffled lights of the city pass under the clouds beneath her. Once the lights came to an end she dipped back below the rain clouds and turned her surfer towards home. She saw the dock was now full of different kinds of vehicles and the lights in the dinning room were brightly shining into the rainy darkness.

Letting out a sigh Julie came around the Inn and landed as quietly as possible before putting her solar surfer back onto her workbench in the shed and shutting the door. She walked up to the back door and peeked into the kitchen through the round window on the wooden door. Upon seeing her mother she quickly ducked back down.

Julie looked down at her clothing. 'Well I can't just walk in, dressed like a pirate that decided to go for a swim.' She thought before moving over to the side of the Inn and scaling the wall up to the window of her room— which she always left unlocked. She slipped into her room and pulled off he soaking wet clothes, she took a second to hang them up and shove the hat, sword and laser pistol— that was probably just an antique— into a hiding spot behind a loose panel in her closet.

She was looking for some clean clothes while drying her hair with a dirty towel before she noticed the pastel dress laying on her bed with a note ontop of it from her mother; " _ **When you get back, put this on and come help me downstairs.**_ " Julie let out a frustrated groan. Her night had gone from exciting and danger filled to being a boring waitress once again.

Julie threw on pants and a T-shirt instead and slinked out of her room and descended the stairs while tying her short hair into a loose bun. Not noticing the amount of golden blonde streaks had increased from earlier today.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch#2— The Key

A voiced echoed through space, calling her name. She once again looked around for the source but was pulled abruptly from her recurring dream by her mother's voice and heavy knocking on her door.

"Andromeda Juliet Hawkins, I swear to all that is holy, if you are not on time to school I will make you start sleeping out in that shed." Her mother's voice said through her door.

Julie sat up and cracked her eyes open, looking towards the door before answering, "Ya mom, I am awake. I am getting ready right now." The young girl ignored her mother's continued chastisement about waking up on time as she roughly brushed out her hair and pulled on her usual tomboyish clothes. It was the final day of school and although sleep still seemed like the better alternative she couldn't be late today.

She walked out of her room and looked down at her watch, grabbing her book bag along the way. **0745**.

"Shit."

"What did I just hear you say Julie?" Her mother said from down hallway.

"That— er…Leaving for school now, bye mom!" She said in response before quickly sliding down the banister of the stairs so that she wouldn't hear her mother's response. After sliding down to the ground floor, Julie bolted through the kitchen and then out the back door and into the shed to grab her solar surfer.

School started at 0800 and she couldn't make it in time if she had to walk all the way there. She knew it was against the school rules to fly in but if she was quick about it and landed nearby they wouldn't be able to figure out who it was before she stashed her board behind the gym. The young aviator stepped on her board with a smile and watched as the new sail she had just bought absorbed the solar rays and pulsed with energy— charging the engine.

She had gotten about 6,000 credits from Matty for the loot she had pulled from the Mayor's safe and although he still owed her another 1,500 it was more than enough to get a new solar sail that she had been wanting, along with a few tattoos that were currently hidden by her clothes. At the moment she had four total around her body. One on her right shoulder blade of an artsy, a colorful sparrow in flight. Another on her left side that was a depiction of the ancient Sagan pulsar map that she had learned about in History class that had helped connect humanity to the rest of the universe centuries before. A small diagram of the chemical compound of Epinephrine on the inside of her left bicep was a tribute to her addiction to adrenaline enduring activities. And finally a small illustration of a sailboat on a colorful background with water and birds and a rainbow of colors on her hip.

She had gotten the last 3 over the course of the last week with the last one being finished late last night. The skin still hurt quite a bit and nagged at her underneath her clothes but, she ignored the discomfort when she took off on her solar surfer and turned towards the school. Keeping her flight path low to the ground and going through a canyon that would loop around behind the school grounds.

With three minutes until the bell would sound, she landed behind the gymnasium and stashed her board out of sight where no one would find it. Julie, along with a few other students scrambled through the hallways and into their assigned classrooms for the final exam. When she finally landed in her seat she heard the starting bell ring and let out a tremendous sigh of relief, making her fellow classmates snicker quietly around her.

"Made it by the skin of your teeth Miss Hawkins." Said the stuffy history teacher with a balding head as he put down a test on her desk and the standardized answer sheet. He walked to the front of the classroom and spoke to the class.

"Now that you are all here the test will begin. You have 3 hours to complete the exam, after which you will be released for lunch and come back to receive your final grades. If I catch you cheating you will be given a 0% and kicked out of the class. No talking. Keep your eyes on your own paper and make sure the annotate your answers onto your answer sheet."

He then started the timer and used the electronic screen mounted on the wall in front of the classroom to display it for every student to easily see. He turned back to the class. "You may begin. Good Luck."

—

Just under 2 hours later Julie was one of the first students to emerge from the school building into the warm sunlight with a bounce in her step; the test had been relatively easy for her, being that it was mostly math and science based. She hadn't done as well on the English and literature portions of the test but it wouldn't be catastrophic because they were only put on a minimal amount of the test.

Much to ire of many of her teachers her grades were relatively good and she knew she would pass and graduate without much of an effort. Her instructors were consistently bewildered at her, due to the fact that she consistently slept in class and often missed class entirely to go fly or do something more interesting. Julie knew she could probably be their favorite and top scoring student if she really tried, but school— especially lately— just felt so…pointless. So she let the straight laced and uptight girl, Samantha West, who had finished around the same time as her to become the administration's pride and joy. Polite, well-behaved, poised, beautiful, and of course— rich. She was from one of the most influential families on the planet that happened to own a majority of the land on this planet and most of the other planets in the system.

She groaned internally when she saw the very same starchy and straight-laced girl walking over towards her with her chestnut brown hair tied back in a neat bun and an annoyed look on her face. The young delinquent looked around for an escape but found none close enough to subtly avoid contact with the girl. However, when she spoke she said something Julie didn't expect.

"You waited for me to finish first before you turned your test in, didn't you?" Samantha stated more than asked.

Julie's eyes darted away from the other girl's steady green eyes. "I don't know what you are talking about; I just guessed most of the answers and turned it in so I could get out of here and have a long lunch before the graduation thing."

"Don't give me that Juliet. I saw you doing it and working out the problems but when you finished, you waited for me to finish and turn it in before you did." The straight-laced girl was absolutely sure of herself and wasn't going to budge until Julie gave her something. "I want to know why; I have seen some of your tests when we get them handed back in class before you can hide the score. You are smart but you act like an idiot."

Julie felt her gut churn; she didn't know anyone had really been paying attention to stuff like this. "Look I don't know what you think you saw, but I am hungry so I am going to get lunch from the shops downtown."

The girl continued to follow her into town and ended up sitting across from her at a table just outside a deli where Julie had purchased a sandwich. "Didn't know I invited you to have lunch with me…" Julie mumbled under her breath before she bit into her sandwich.

"You haven't answered my question yet." She said firmly, opening her own neatly packed lunch.

Julie gave a defeated sigh before responding. "Alright, fine. You got me; I finished and waited for you to finish so that I wouldn't draw attention. Happy?"

"Why though? why are you pretending to not be as smart as you really are and only give a half-assed effort in school? Don't you want to go to college?"

Julie looked back down at her sandwich to avoid the girls honest and intent gaze. "Some people can't afford college, dumbass."

Samantha hesitated before responding a little bit softer. "Oh…well, that still isn't a reason to act like an idiot when you are clearly smart. Maybe you could go to the naval academy or something—that's where me and my brother are going next year, you never really know until you apply for programs like that; it is a free tuition but, you have to serve in the Navy for a few years afterwards. I mean I only decided a earlier this year but, it's better than being stuck here, right?"

'So she is the one who got it…' Julie thought to herself.

The young girl silently ate her sandwich as she let the slight sting of the words sink into her mind. "It's not like I haven't tried to do stuff like that but," She stood up from the table and gather her trash. "People like me don't get chances like that."

She turned and walked away from the table, tossing her trash into a nearby bin before ducking into an alleyway. A girl like Samantha could never understand; she had been born with a silver spoon in her mouth, with parents that were insanely wealthy people that she was pretty sure had some some connection to royalty that she had only ever heard rumors of. To put it simply, they could buy whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted it. She had a family that cared about her and understood her.

Julie had been born poor, with a father who didn't even bother to look back when he walked out on her and her mom. Julie had once thought she might have a chance to prove her worth when she found out about the naval academy a year ago. The process required a recommendation from a local representative or public official but, when she had gone to town hall to ask about how to get one she had been laughed out of the building. Even if her grades were good, even if she tried to be on her best behavior, she was still only seen as a poor girl from the dirty side of town. There was only two recommendation per class that was permitted to be given per graduating class by the mayor— one male and one female. The recommendation had been reserved for her before she had even decided to go.

She lit up a cigarette from the nearly empty pack she had swiped earlier in the week when she heard footsteps coming up the ally behind her, undoubtedly the straight laced girl once again. Julie turned and spoke before the other girl could start.

"I answered your question; just leave me alone."

Sam looked at her for a moment trying to formulate the right thing to say. "You are wrong Juliet, you are smart and yo—"

"Shut the fuck up!" She yelled, throwing her cigarette onto the ground between them.

Julie had heard enough from the stupid prissy, rich girl. Bitter anger at Sam, at this stupid planet, at that fat pompous mayor, and at her fucking useless— piece of shit dad burned fervently in her chest.

"You don't know anything about me, you just see some lost puppy that got kicked one too many times. You don't really give a shit about me, you just feel bad when you look down from your high fucking horse. Stop preaching your useless bullshit; you are wasting my time. I don't want your pity and I never will, so please do me a solid and _**Fuck**_ _ **Off**_!"

The straight-laced, teacher's pet, looked more than a little aghast at the slew of curse words that were thrown at her so aggressively. Julie just turned and disappeared down the ally while the other girl was stuck in place— too shocked to follow. Once she was out of sight she climbed up the wall of a building and pulled herself onto the roof; then laid down flat on her back and watched the puffy white clouds float by lazily, to calm herself down.

She knew she shouldn't have yelled at the girl; she was just trying to help and possibly be friendly for whatever reason. But Julie didn't want to be reminded she wasn't good enough; that the straight laced goody-two-shoes girl would get to live out a dream that had been cruelly denied to her. That Samantha had everything Julie wished for but couldn't have.

So the young delinquent cleared her head of useless thoughts of the future and focused on the puffy white clouds that sailed through the sky above her, while she smoked and waited for the final test to be graded. Soon she wouldn't have to go back to the stupid school that wouldn't give her the shot at the future she had hoped for.

—

As the rest of the time for the test passed all of the other students gradually trickled out of the building after finishing their exams and finally the time came— after the teachers had run the testing score card through the grading machine and tallied up the final points— to reconvene. Once the class was settled back into their seats the teacher didn't waste anytime in handing out the final grades to those that had passed and sent them off to get sized for their graduation gowns for the official ceremony that would be tomorrow afternoon.

All she had to do was get the stupid roll of paper saying she graduated and then she would finally be free of this place.

—

The next day came and the students were in their gowns and the ceremony was boring and basically just the principle reading off a list of names. However when Juliet Hawkins was called no one came up on stage.

The students looked around as if they would find her sleeping in a chair among them but, she wasn't anywhere to be found. Her mother sat in the crowd silently praying that her daughter wasn't so stupid that she would miss her own graduation. After calling her name again and no one coming forward the principle spoke again.

"Miss Hawkins, you can't graduate without this diploma." He said, raising the roll of paper in the air above his head and looked through the crowd of students for her as if to bait her onto stage by shaking the paper above his head for her to see. Then he heard a faint noise over the murmuring of the crowd.

"That sounds like an engi—AAH!" His words turned into a yell of surprise as a young girl that was flying inverted on a solar surfer flew right over his head and plucked the diploma out of his hand before he could pull it down. He looked up in surprise to see the student he had been calling for smiling back at him, hanging from the solar surfer in her graduation gown with her regular clothes underneath.

The students and soon the rest of the crowd laughed and cheered as she circled a few times before pulling off her gown and hat, dropping them as she flew by the stage. Once she had done that she turned the nose of the craft straight up and smashed down on the throttle, causing her to shoot up into the air and into the handful of low hanging clouds— lazily drifting through the sky.

The principle shook his head with a laugh and said into the microphone, "Well that was the most unique graduation walk I have ever seen."

Causing the crowd to laugh and eventually focus back on the ceremony, all except for one woman who was pitching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger.

"That girl is gonna be the death of me." She said quietly to herself.

—

It didn't take much time for Julie to figure out that she would get a lecture from her mom as soon as she got home so she decided to stay out and have fun. Conveniently enough, there happened to be a graduation party happening that night at the _Drifters_ ' gang hangout/clubhouse that had been newly renovated with the money from the score.

Honestly it was only as matter of time before the place got discovered and raided by the police, but for now a lot of the newly graduated students had flooded the shabby two story structure and were partying like their was no tomorrow. Julie could easily figure out that this party was a play to recruit more members to the gang, but she decided that getting drunk, gambling, racing, and/or getting in a fight or two would be a fun way to end her time in high school.

Later that day, while the sun was sinking towards the horizon, Julie found herself doing exactly as planned when she put some drunk asshole on his ass after he tried to argue when she smoked him in a solar surfer race. It was easy to see that she had won but this guy wouldn't let up and she was tired of his bitching so she hit him with a right cross which knocked him off his feet.

She was strong but she was still small, so he was more pissed than anything and started to get back up before she connected her boot to his face and knocked him out cold. Matty came up beside her and raised her hand in the air, proclaiming she was the victor of both the race and the fight. There was a crowd of former high school students that were cheering and in various states of inebriation that had spilled from the clubhouse to watch the race.

Even though the gang was stupid and so was Ed, Julie had to admit the clubhouse they had put together was pretty fun for parties. At least half of the graduating class was here, which equated to about 200+ people. It was easily the biggest party she had been to and it had been killer thus far, and only seemed to get better as she drank more. Didn't get many of these in a relatively small town on a dustball mining planet.

She was talking with a group that was standing outside, smoking and drinking from a large container of alcohol when she noticed a familiar figure with a small group coming through the canyon that lead to town. She groaned internally when the nervous looking rich girl spotted her and started moving towards her.

Julie handed the alcohol to Matty, who was standing next to her, and broke away from the group after saying she would be right back. She sauntered her way out until she and the girl were standing in front of each other. Samantha wasn't alone however; behind her was a group of kids that looked like they all very much didn't belong at a party like this. Up-town types. It wasn't like the party wasn't an open invitation to everyone but, the rich kids in the town usually just didn't associate with the poor ones.

"What are you doin' here Samantha?" Julie said, shoving her hands in her jacket pockets while she puffed on the cigarette hanging from her mouth. "This doesn't really seem like your scene."

Samantha let out a laugh at her words, despite looking like a small animal during hunting season. "It definitely is not…I actually came to find you."

Julie eyed the group behind the straight laced girl that looked about as edge as she did but, they were mostly guys looking more primed for a fight than anything else. "You need 10 people just to find lil' ol' me?" Julie said.

"No, my brother was against me coming here by myself so he and a few friends came along…"

"Well, thats probably for the best since you don't really blend in here. You might have gotten mugged because you look like you have money. So why did you need to find me?" Julie said, wanting to end the conversation as soon as possible and get back to drinking and doing stupid shit.

Sam looked around and noticed the eyes of more than a few people on her and her group. "Is there a more quiet place we could talk or something?" she asked a bit nervously.

"Sam, it doesn't get any less crazy inside so speak now or get out of here." Julie stated, a little more bluntly than she meant to— prompting a tall brown haired boy behind her to step closer to the two.

"Hey, bitch, Samantha took the time and energy to come out here just to fin—" He started angrily before Sam interrupted him.

"Peter, stop it!" She said, uncharacteristically loud which clearly threw the boy off a bit. "Just let us talk and we can leave."

"Alright, alright. Sorry." He said, holding up his hands and giving them space again.

She let out a tired sigh and turned back to Julie. "I wanted to say that I am sorry. I didn't mean to come off as pompous or entitled; I wasn't looking down on you or anything like that. You just seem like a nice and genuine person— which seemed to have become exceedingly rare— so I thought I would make that clear and apologize. You know, mend bridges instead of burning them."

The delinquent's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the sincerity of the girl she barely knew. "I, uh…well thanks for that I guess; and um…no hard feelings. I'm sorry I blew up on you and everything, you didn't deserve that." Julie said, rubbing the back of her neck and looking down at the dirt feeling a little guilty.

"No hard feelings." Samantha responded with a small smile. The smile faded when Julie heard footsteps behind her and saw the group that had accompanied Sam move forward as well and start to spread out like they were getting ready for something.

Julie looked over her shoulder and saw Matty with a ragtag group of guys that numbered about 15, Matty kept his eyes on the group opposite when he spoke to Julie.

"Everything alright over here?" He said before letting a taunting smirk pull across his face as he directed his next words to the up-town group. "Never thought I would see you rich-bitches out here, you come for the graduation party or something?"

The guy that Julie now knew as Peter stepped forward and spoke before either girl could try and defuse the situation. "We are just here to make sure my sister didn't get mugged by this chick, or any of you dirtbags, when she went to talk to her."

Anger flared in Julie's chest but it was Matty that responded first taking a threatening step towards the other guy. "Sounds more to me you came out here with a death wish, judging by the way you're talking about me and my friends." Julie felt a sinking feeling in her gut; 'death wish?' She thought. Matty wasn't one to make empty threats but, death seemed a little harsh— sounded more like Ed than anything else.

Julie turned to Samantha and said in a low voice, "You guys better get out of here, these guys have a lot more backup in the clubhouse and not all of them are the most stable characters."

Sam nodded, "Ya that sounds like it could get pretty bad."

Both girls then stepped between the two guys at the heads of their groups and began to talk them down and push them back so that they wouldn't be within easy punching distance. Once Julie had finally convinced Matty and the rest to head back to the party and Samantha had scolded her brother enough to get him to start moving their group back towards town they turned back towards each other.

"Catastrophe avoided." Julie said with an exaggerated sigh of relief, wiping the imaginary sweat off her brow. Samantha laughed and agreed.

"Listen Juliet, I'm gonna be around town occasionally for the next year because My brother and I will be doing a prep course before leaving for the academy and…" She looked down at her feet, looking a bit unsure of how to phrase her next words. "…I was wondering if you would want to get together and hang out or something…"

"You trying to fuck me or be my friend?" Julie said with amusement in her voice. Samantha's eyes widened comically and her face flushed and stuttered out a response.

"No! I didn't mean— I just meant as friends!" She said, making Julie throw her head back in laughter.

"Good, I don't really swing that way but I would have been flattered." She said with a smile. "But seriously that does sound fun, come by the Benbow Inn if you want to find me when you are in town. If I'm not their then you can leave a message for me with my mom who runs the place. Also you can just call me Julie."

Sam smiled brightly, and nodded her head. "Alright Julie, I definitely will! and you can call me Sam."

Peter called out to her and waved, to her to tell her to hurry up before they left her behind. Sam stepped closer and whispered one last thing to Julie and handed her a small piece of paper.

"If you ever need me or need to contact me here is my address." She said before looking over at the ongoing party and adding, "And be careful around this place, Julie. I know I might not know the people here as well as you but I have heard some pretty scary stuff from girls that have hung out here before…rumors have been going around that their leader drugged and raped a girl who came here not too long ago."

Julie felt a a churning feeling in her gut at the second-hand account of the gang leader. 'Ed may be a douche but he wouldn't go that far…right?' She thought weakly.

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks for the heads-up though, Sam." She said, followed by a reassuring smile that felt a little bit forced. Sam hesitated a second before the voice of her brother calling out to her again made her quickly say goodbye and move to follow her brother and group back towards town.

Julie stood there watching until she lost sight of them around a corner. Sam's words bounced around her head as she turned back towards the party. She kept telling herself that Matty would never let something like that happen; at the very least he would have her back. But, she still felt a nagging doubt in the back of her mind so she set off to find Matty to inquire specifically about the rumors.

—

On the way to find him she got caught up talking and drinking and having fun, but at the back of her head Sam's words kept echoing and making her feel the need to find Matty. He was one of the only people at this party she really trusted to have her back no matter what. She was standing in a circle of people, talking about the finer points of solar surfers when she finally caught sight of him heading upstairs.

She called out to him but he didn't hear her over the noise level in the room so she followed him up the stairs and looked around trying to find him. Julie was almost getting lost just walking around the second floor due to the fact it had been built by fucking high school kids who were definitely not the best at home design. She was just thankful the structure hadn't fallen apart yet.

The young delinquent turned down a hallway with a few doors to small rooms along it's length— only one of which had a closed door; when she passed by it she faintly heard Matty's voice and stopped. She was about to knock when she heard Ed's voice speaking in a low volume, obviously talking about something he didn't want anyone else to hear.

"Do you want to be my number 2 or not, Matty?" The older man said, "We just got a ton of guys to sign on with us and if you aren't willing to do this then I might just decide to give them a shot."

"I do, Ed. I really do but…this just feels weird." She heard her friend respond. "Why can't you just talk to her about it straight up?"

"She would never even let me come close, she's got her guard up against anything I do before I even do it. I just gotta…help her _relax_." The last part of Ed's words made her skin crawl. She decided to listen closely for who he was targeting so that she could give them a heads up.

"But do you really have to use a drug to do that? She is gonna be closer to unconscious than anything else, plus she is useful— she defiantly proved she is a better infiltrator than any of us at the Mayor's place." Julie's mouth went dry when it became obvious who they were targeting.

"And then what did she tell you after?" Ed responded before answering his own question. "She said she was done with this kind of stuff. We can't trust her or rely on her anymore. She isn't part of the gang and she never will be; she is cutting ties with us. This is the last time I am gonna ask Matty, are you gonna do this for me or not?"

"Fine, I'll do it." Matty's voice said with a resigned sigh that Julie could hear through the door. She quietly stood up, having heard all she need to, and walked quickly down the hall and down the stairs— ignoring the offers of drinks and cigarettes and another race. When she finally exited the building she violently emptied the contents of her stomach onto the ground, leaning with one hand on the wall for support.

A few nearby people laughed, figuring it was another person who drank too much. After she had nothing left to vomit Julie shuffled towards where her solar surfer was leaned against the outer wall of the clubhouse; before she heard someone yell out at the top of their lungs— " _ **COPS!**_ "

She whipped her head around to see the flashing lights coming through the canyon and darted to her board as all the kids started to scramble like rats. They ran in all different directions, the cops just grabbed those they could reach and cuffed them before moving on towards the clubhouse.

There was a large group of police officers that had come to roll the party; mostly human but some of assorted races and more than a few of their robot cops that were generally for flying violation enforcement. Julie had had run-ins with them the most, by far. But right now they were preoccupied with the former students on the ground so they could only watch as she cut on her engine and took off down another canyon that would take her away from town— towards the quarry.

She felt her chest tighten and the nauseousness threaten to overwhelm her again but she just pressed down not he throttle harder and kept accelerating to even more dangerous speeds. Ignoring the sign she broke through, indicating the restricted area of the ore processing section of the quarry. She dipped up and down, left and right, barely avoiding serious injury while holding down the throttle.

Julie didn't want to think about anything right now, so she held the speed as high as she could and flew like she had a death wish. Desperately trying to get the wind and recklessness of her flight to drive her best friend's betrayal out of her head; to stop herself from thinking that she deserved it in some way. She felt like if she stopped she would fall apart so she kept it up; teasing closer and closer to the edge of her abilities. Obstacles coming within inches of colliding with her body and craft.

Then she saw it— the small window of opportunity— opening, then closing a few seconds later. It was probably the most stupid and dangerous thing she could think of and it seemed perfect. So, with that thought in mind, she lined up the nose of her board with an opening near the top of the giant rotating wheel mechanism that hung between two large structures— serving some function she couldn't care less about.

Her adrenaline picked up and she punched the throttle with a wild grin on her face. Everything began to fade into the background as she got closer and focused on her timing. She had to have this just right of she knew she probably wouldn't live to know that she hadn't timed it correctly. That was just the reality of the situation.

This was a life and death situation that would hinge of her gut feel for the correct timing. She felt a more rational part of her brain telling her to stop or pull up and just go above the structure but she pressed on and lowered her body as much as she could so that she could fit through the small opening.

She soon passed the point of no return and her adrenaline surged causing her world to shrink to just her and the objective. Everything slowed down when se saw the small rectangular opening slide clear to admit her; she held her breath as she felt the edges of the inside of the opening barely a hairbreadth away from her body. The inside of the space was a longer distance to travel than she had initially thought and before she was all the way out she saw the edge to her side, moving closer and her window of escape slowly closing.

Julie was sure for a moment that she wouldn't make it, but she could do nothing but hold down the throttle and hope she made it out. She lowered her body even more as the nose of her board exited the back side of the hole and soon the rest of her followed close behind barely slipping through the closing mechanism— unscathed— into to open air.

The young adrenaline junky stood to her full height on her board and slowed to a cruising speed above the quarry. Her body shook like a leaf in a thunder storm as she let out a maniacal laugh and felt the adrenaline slowly subside and the glowing golden streaks of her hair slowly dimmed.

'That had to be the craziest thing I have ever done; kinda sucks that I don't have a witness here since no one will believe me when I say I did it.' She thought to herself.

Just as she had finished thinking that, she heard a police siren whoop directly behind her, making her yelp in surprise quickly turned her head around to see two familiar robot flying enforcement officers within 50 meters and closing. She knew she didn't even have a chance to get away and just let out a heavy sigh.

"Great…" She said weakly to herself. "Well at least I got someone to confirm I did it, I guess."

—

Sarah was nearing the end of the dinner rush. She was frazzled beyond belief; running on empty having not been able to take a break through the entire thing. She barely had the time to close her eyes and wonder where exactly her daughter went when she stayed out this late.

'Hopefully she will be home soon;' She thought to herself. 'and hopefully she is safe, and not getting into trouble.'

She slid her fingers around the locket around her neck, thinking about what John's reaction would have been if he had been at that graduation ceremony. She let out a small laugh, because she knew he would probably be cheering her on the whole time.

'At least she hasn't had any issues with the police.' Sarah thought, before hearing a customer call out her name.

"Oh Miss Hawkins!" The older female cyclops said, pointing to her empty cup.

"I know, refill on the purp juice, coming right up Mrs. Dunnwiddie." The hostess said before taking a tray of food and handing it out to a table with a small amphibian family seated around it.

"There we go. That's four powdered spheroids...two lunar eclipses, and it's a big bowl of Zorellian jelly worms— for the big boy!" Sarah said, warmly watching the young boy's happy reaction to his food. "Enjoy."

She picked up another tray from the kitchen and moved over to the table with her old friend sitting, reading a book about astronomy.

"Sorry, Delbert, it's been a madhouse here all morning." She said, before the canine held up his hands as if to say the apology wasn't necessary and responded; "No problem at all, Sarah."

"Ah! My Alponian chowder with the extra solara seed." Delbert said delightedly. "Mmm! Yum!"

Sarah smiled and moved away to clear off a table of a family that had just left. She stacked the last of the dirty dishes into the dirty dish tray when she looked over and saw Delbert talking with a small amphibian girl from the family sitting nearby.

"What brings you here, curious little one?" He asked, only to be met with a silent stare as he held the spoonful of his first bite in front of his mouth.

"Well…um, go away." He said, making a shooing motion with his hands; stopping the spoon again before it entered his mouth when the girl didn't budge. He leaned down to her a little.

"Are your parents around?" He said only to be met again with silence. "What's the matter? Cat got your—aah!" Yelping in surprise when in the middle of his sentence a long tongue shot out of her mouth and swiped the first bite of his chowder. He looked at the little girl, feeling a little shaken as she swallowed the bite and skipped away happily.

Sarah walked back over, holding the tray of dirty dishes. "Oh, they're so adorable at that age." She said warmly— thinking back to when Julie was that age.

"Oh, yes…deplorable—er, adorable. Yes." He said, thanking whatever god's that be, that he didn't have children. "Speaking of which, how's Julie doing? She graduated today, if I'm not mistaken."

"Yes she did, everything went…smoothly, I suppose. She got her diploma and has been doing much better recently. I know she had some rough spots earlier this year— every since that thing with the academy didn't work out, but I really think that she is starting to turn a corner…" She let her words trail off when she heard the door open abruptly to admit two robot-officers that were escorting her daughter into the room.

"Mrs. Hawkins?" Asked one of them when they spotted her.

"Julie!" She said looking at her child, not realizing when the dish tray slipped out of her hands and hit the floor, probably shattering more than a few of them.

"Ooh…wrong turn." Delbert said behind her when he spotted Julie.

The young delinquent started a feeble attempt to play it off as she slipped from the officer's grasp and started to walk away casually. "Ok. Thanks for the lift, guys."

"Not so fast." The officer said, firmly grasping her shoulder again and keeping her from getting away, then turning back to her mother. "We apprehended your daughter operating a solar aircraft in a restricted area, inside of the quarry."

That other officer picked up seamlessly where the other officer stopped talking; "Moving violation— section fifteen, paragraph, um…"

"Six." Julie said quietly.

"Thank you." The officer said back to her.

"No problem."

"Julie!" Sarah exclaimed, again before the officer continued.

"As you are aware ma'am this constitutes a violation of her probation." He said firmly, making Sarah's heart sink at the thought of Julie getting charged with a crime and possibly facing the consequences.

"Yes. No, I understand, but…could we just—" Her plea was interrupted by Delbert's voice behind her.

"Um. ahem. pardon me officers, if I might interject here." He said, standing beside Sarah, pulling himself to his full height and puffing out his chest trying to look as important as possible. "I am the noted astrophysicist, Dr. Delbert Doppler. Perhaps you have heard of me." Waiting a few seconds, hoping they would somehow know him.

"No? Well, um, I have a news clipping right here." He said, as he begun digging in his pocket for the newspaper article that had mentioned him that he had excitedly cut out this morning.

"Are you the girl's father?" The officer asked bluntly.

"Oh, good heavens, no!" He stuttered out, followed by Sarah adding on with a laugh, "No, no, no— eww— He's just an old friend of the family."

Delbert felt more than a little hurt but, his attention was redirected when the officers leaned down towards him and said in unison; "Back off, sir!"

He involuntarily took a step back, before Sarah gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Thank you, Delbert. I think I can handle it from here."

He straightened his jacket. "Well, Sarah, if you insist." Then in lower whisper to his friend, "Don't ever let me do that again." Before walking back to his table and the now cold meal; where he could give silent support, at a safe distance. The officer started to speak once again the Sarah.

"Due to repeated violations of Statute C— we have impounded the vehicle. Anymore violations will result in a one-way ticket to Juvenile Hall." The officer finished before his partner added on, "Kiddie hoosegow."

"The slammo." He said once again with finality while he slightly pushed the girl towards her mother.

"Thank you, officers; it won't happen again." She said, pulling her daughter towards her.

"We see her type all the time, ma'am." Said one officer, once again the other officer chimed in; "Wrong choices."

"Dead-enders."

"Losers." The other officer finished, as they turned and left; shutting the door behind them. The room remained deathly quiet before everyone resumed their conversations and eating, trying— and failing— to avoid letting the hostess know they had all be watching the scene unfold.

Sarah look down at her daughter, who avoided eye contact. "Julie, I have had it with this behavior. Do you want to go to Juvenile Hall? you are almost 18, what if they tried you as an adult and sent you to jail? is that what you want to happen?"

Julie just moved away from her and picked up the tray that Sarah had dropped— it had luckily not let any pieces of the broken dishes inside to scatter across the floor because of the high edges on the dirty dish tray.

"Julie?" Her mother said, following a few paces behind her, trying to get her attention. "Andromeda Juliet Hawkins, look at me." She whisper-yelled in a low voice so the entire room didn't hear. "It's been hard enough trying to keep this place afloat by myself, without you going off and—"

"Mom, it's no big deal." Julie said, turning back to her mother while holding the tray. "There was nobody around; those cops just won't get off my—" She stopped her sentence when she saw her mother put her hands on her hips and give her a look that told her whatever excuse she gave wasn't going to get her out of the situation.

"…Forget it." She said quietly to herself before turning back to clear off another table.

"Miss Hawkins! my juice!" The old cyclops woman cooed from across the room, holding up her empty glass once again.

"Yes, sorry. I will get you a refill in a second." Sarah said, before turning back towards her child.

"Julie, I just don't want to see you throw away you entire future." After saying that she turned and went to go see to the customers again, leaving Julie to gather up the last of the dishes and pushed through the kitchen door.

"what future?" She said quietly to herself.

—

Julie sat on the roof, above the now nearly empty dinning room, not long after the the dinner rush had ended. She looked up at the gathering clouds that would probably start to let out rain and lightning soon enough.

"Today fucking sucked." Julie said, tossing a pebble and listening to it clack down the metal roof as she thought about how it had been going so well before everything went to shit. She had always been sort of a loner so finding out her best friend and almost only real friend was willing to betray her made her feel sick again. But, worst of all— it made her feel alone again.

Matty had been the only person she could really let her guard down around; there was still Sam but, that was too new to know if it would really last. They both knew next to nothing about each other and their respective hobbies, so they might end up just not being compatible. And of course her mother's perpetual disappointment in her made her feel like a piece of shit; though admittedly she might have done a lot to deserve that.

She knew she couldn't explain the reason she had gone into the quarry because then her mother would want to know more about her connections to the gang and then she would want to get the police involved and blah blah blah. So Julie had no room to maneuver on that situation and would just have to endure it and try to keep her nose clean from now on.

Julie heard the faint sound of her Delbert's voice coming through the a skylight window on the roof nearby, that had been left open. She scooted closer to hear better and peek inside when she heard her Mother's voice as well.

"I really don't know how you manage it, Sarah. Trying to run a business while raise a young woman like Julie." Delbert said, sitting across from Sarah.

"Managing it?" She said, sounding exasperated. "I'm at the end of my rope. Ever since John left…well of course the Inn is hard to manage but, Julie just never recovered. You know how smart she is; She built her first solar surfer when she was eight! I am at least thankful she graduated but she is still constantly getting in trouble and she is going to be an adult soon and she could land herself in serious trouble!"

Sarah put her head in her hands and let out a defeated sigh. "When I try and talk to her…I don't know, it's like I'm talking to a stranger. I just can't get through to her. I don't know what to do Delbert; I have tried everything I just…I don't know what to do." She finished in a voice thick with the emotion that was boiling over.

Julie moved away from the window, back to her previous spot, trying to ignore that knot that had formed in her throat and the tears that stung the corners of her eyes. She pulled her knees to her chest and buried her face in the cloth of her pants, trying not to let the brimming tears spill over.

" _Dammit_." She hoarsely whispered to herself.

After her dad had left she had cried for days before finally deciding it was time to grow up; that there was no more room for weakness in her heart. She had been having a rather rough time today trying to keep the promise she made to herself not to cry; she didn't want to feel weak and vulnerable anymore. She breathed slowly to calm herself and let the tears recede and resolutely kept the promise to herself.

As she thought about what to do next, she heard a high pitched whining sound coming from somewhere on the other side of the Inn. She turned her head towards the noise when she realized it was getting louder and was soon met with the sight of a ship with the engine spewing smoke and flames. It closed the distance with the ground much too rapidly to be a controlled landing.

Julie stood and quickly slid down the roof as she saw ship finally smack into the ground with a loud crash that sounded like thunder. She ran towards the downed craft and circled it looking for any signs of life from the passengers. This thing looked more like a lifeboat that came from a much bigger ship than something that was meant for long distance space travel.

She spotted a window that would be able to give her access to the main cabin so she ran up to it and pounded her fist on it yelling if there was anyone in there that could hear her. Suddenly, a clawed hand slammed against the glass from the inside; surprising her so bad she nearly fell back on her ass.

The hand pushed the window off and an old torinian man in a large overcoat and a tricorn hat stumbled out coughing so hard he fell to the ground. While the clawed hand had scared her at first, she had seen other torinians before so she knew she didn't have to be afraid of the tortoise-like man.

Stepping towards him she started to ask if he was ok when he reached up and grabbed her by the front of her jacket and started babbling out something she didn't understand.

"He's a comin'! Can yeh er' 'im?" He said looking very much out of his mind. "Those gears and gyros; Clankin' and clackin' like the Devil 'imself."

"You must have hit your head pretty hard there mister." Julie said, half amused and half worried.

The man turned back towards his grounded spacecraft and dug something out before turning back towards Julie. "He's after me chest! That fiendish cyborg and his band of cutthroats, but he'll 'ave to pry it from Billy Bones' cold dead fingers 'afore I— Ack!" The man said before collapsing onto the ground in a fit of coughing and pain ridden groans.

"Shit!"Julie said, rushing to his side and putting his arm over her shoulder. "Let me help you get to the Inn. Then we can see about getting you checked out by a doctor." Julie felt large rain drops start to hit her face as she slowly helped the man towards the front door.

"Mom's gonna love this."

—

The man was much bigger and heavier than her but she managed to get him to the Inn without collapsing. She was tired, wet, and shaking from having the man's weight over her shoulders. They burst through the door and collapsed onto the floor in a heap before Julie pulled herself from under his weight.

"Andromeda Juliet Hawkins! What in the world—" Her mother started to say before she interrupted her.

"Mom, he's hurt! We have to call a doctor or ambulance or something!" Julie said desperately.

She felt the Bones tug on her arm weakly. When she turned around she saw he was point to the small chest he had dragged along from his ship and was trying to get her to bring it towards him. Julie obliged him and pushed the chest over to him.

He punched in a code and cracked it open while whispering about how someone would be coming soon. "Can't let them find this." He said as he pulled out a small cloth wrapped object.

"Who's coming?" Julie asked intently. Bones grabbed her by the front of her shirt and pulled her close to him, pushing the cloth wrapped object into her hands and whispered into her ear; " _The Cyborg_! Beware…the cyborg…" His words slowly became more hoarse and quiet until he finally fell back to the floor with a limp thud. Bones was dead. She felt the life leave his body with her own hands as he took his last shuttering breath.

For the first time Julie looked down and saw the blood that had been seeping out of a large wound in his side that had soaked part of her clothes and now the floor around the deceased man.

"Oh my God…" She heard her mother say, standing nearby. Before anyone could say anything else the noise of a ship engine came to all of their ears. They looked at each other and Julie moved over to the window and peeked out. Lighting struck nearby and illuminated a group of armed men jumping down from a small ship and beginning to move towards the Inn.

"We have to go, Now!" Julie said, quickly grabbing her mother's hand and running up the stairs, followed closely by Dr. Doppler. Behind them they heard the sound of laser fire ripping through the front of the dining room windows and the front door. They continued up the stairs until they got to a window at the end of the upstairs hallway— right outside the doorway to Julie's room.

Delbert pushed open the window and looked down to see his personal carriage right where he had parked it, on the side of the building.

"You guys figure out a way to get down there; I have to grab something from my room." Julie said before darting into her room and digging out the harness with the sword and pistol still holstered in it. If they had to fight their way out, antique weapons wouldn't be ideal but they were better than nothing. She pull out the sword and touched the blade to see if it was even sharp and quickly withdrew her hand when it cut her finger immediately. The blade was in perfect condition and razor sharp.

"Aren't antiques supposed to be like, old and rusty or something?" She said, looking down at the sword. "If this is in perfect condition then what about the gun?"

She sheathed the sword and pulled out the laser pistol. Just like the sword it looked in perfect condition; she had never fired a laser weapon before so she had little to no idea of how to shoot— except to point at something and pull the trigger. She heard a loud crash downstairs and realized she didn't have time to figure out how to test if it worked or not, so she slid the pistol back into the holster carefully.

She quickly pulled on the belt/harness and fastened it in place under her jacket before grabbing the stack of papers she had taken from the Mayor's safe, as well as a small sack of left over credits she had gotten from her cut of the profits. She shoved them in her pocket along with the cloth covered object that Bones had given to her and darted back out to see Delbert and her mother standing in the open window.

Julie smelled smoke coming from downstairs and looked back to see light from an open flame casting shadows up the stairs of the armed figures moving up to their floor. She ran towards the window with Delbert and his mother counting down from 3 before they were going to make the jump.

"Ready?" Delbert said, followed by a nod from Sarah. "One…tw—"

"Three!" Julie yelled as she ran and jumped, tackling them out of the window and down towards the carriage. They landed in a heap in the seat but soon enough Delbert took hold of the reins and urged forward, the animal that was responsible for pulling the carriage.

"Go Nahla, Go!" Delbert said urgently.

Once they made it to the main road Julie and Sarah looked back to see flames spouting from the doors and windows of the Inn, Julie felt her heart sink when she saw the look of devastation on her mother's face. They both slipped back into the carriage seats quietly, Sarah leaned forward and put her face in her hands and cried.

Julie wasn't sure what she could do to comfort her mother. She had put everything she had into that Inn; she had grown up their and had taken over when her father had died in a mining accident and her mother fell ill, passing away not long after. Now all of those memories were in ashes and all of the tears, sweat and blood that had gone into keeping that place afloat were meaningless.

—

A few hours later Julie and her mother sat by the fireplace in Delbert's study in the large mansion that he lived in by himself. Julie put a blanket around her mother's shoulders when Delbert finally came back after going to talk with the police. He looked rather downtrodden so the news must have been bad.

"I'm sorry Sarah." He said, putting a hand on Sarah's shoulder. "It's gone…the Benbow Inn is burnt to the ground. There is no sign of the group that did this."

Sarah, didn't respond and just continued to star quietly at the floor. She had seen the flames from the road, so she had been somewhat expecting this. She had cried the whole ride to Delbert's so at the moment she was too exhausted for anymore tears.

"At least we didn't have any guests staying at the Inn." She said, trying to look on the optimistic side. "And we all made it out, without any injuries."

Sarah looked over to her daughter and saw the blood soaked into the clothes and panicked for a second before remembering that it was from the old man that Julie had brought in.

Julie pulled a the small cloth wrapped ball out of he jacket pocket and started to unravel it.

"For them to have caused all this trouble over this thing, it must be important…" She said, stiffening when she let the final covering all away from the metallic, shining surface. Julie felt her body shudder when she realized what she was holding.

" _ **The Key**_."

.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch#3— RLS Legacy

"Why?" The voice of one of his brothers asked.

He looked around at the boys and girls around him— ranging in age from 17 to 14. None of them were blood related but they were the the closest thing to a real family he had ever known.

"Why did you let us die, Will?"

"I tried—" He began to say before Richard cut in again; "I thought we were supposed to watch each other's backs; isn't that what family does? Why would you leave us behind?"

"I know, Rich…I'm so—" His sentence was cut off as he was thrown from his hammock and thumped onto the hardwood of the floor. The air of the ship's hold was humid and stuffy, filled with the sounds of snoring and soft breathing— smelling vaguely of dirty socks and stale breath.

He let out a groan against the wood as he heard a series of farts, sounding unmistakably like laughter, behind him. He swore quietly as he picked himself up from the floor.

"Can you really not get out of the top, without knocking me onto the floor, every time?" He said, throwing an accusatory look at the large farting creature that inhabited the hammock-bunk above his. "Because I could swear I hear you laughing right now."

In response, the creature flailed it's fleshy appendages and farted at increased frequency— obviously feigning not being able to understand anything but his native tongue.

"I know you can understand me to fat sack of methane!" He said from his spot on the floor before hearing his name being called from up on deck.

"Willy, ma boy!" Said a familiar, jolly voice easily carrying down into the hull of the ship. "Come help me whip up breakfast!"

William suppressed a groan and moved to get dressed— taking a second to move his duffle bag of meager belonging over to the available hammock adjacent to his, so he wouldn't have to be under the gassiest member of the crew anymore. The young man pulled on his boots—leaving on his semi-clean loose fitting shirt, before pulling his shaggy and disheveled mane of black hair back and tying a bandana over it to keep it out of his face.

"Gotta cut that again soon." He said to himself, touching the knife that was tucked into his boot that he had employed previously in the task. Once he was ready he ran his hands over the scruffy attempt at a beard on his face and made his way up steps onto the upper deck and then into the galley to help a familiar cyborg with preparing breakfast for the crew.

"Mornin' boy-o, I need you to take breakfast to the Captain and her first officer in her cabin. Once they are done you'll bring them a nice, hot pot of Surtilian coffee." The older man said while opening a container of coffee beans then pointing to two plates with fancy looking foods set on them. "I'll get the coffee going while your gone, hop to it, Laddy."

"Aye, Ca—…Silver." William said, stopping and correcting himself when he caught a sharp gaze from the cook's bionic eye. He quickly put the dishes onto a tray and went about his task.

—

That very same 19 year old, cabin 'boy' found himself— a few hours later— helping load last minute cargo onto the deck of the ship. By this time, he had rolled up his sleeves and untucked his shirt; feeling himself sweat freely underneath the heat of the nearby star. He had some experience on ships before and had spent the last month with this crew before they had been contracted for this expedition, so he had a pretty good handle on the direction and flow that things moved around the deck and ship.

He was still a cabin boy though, so most of the time people were dumping tasks they didn't want to do onto him. Most young men his age would have complained but, he was getting used to it and had been slowly earning respect from the crew one step at a time.

At the moment, he was aloft amongst the vast array of ropes and platforms secured between the three large masts with solar sails that were currently secured in the upward position because they weren't being used.

William was assisting in the hoisting of cargo via ropes and a pulley system, acting on orders shouted out by Lt. Commander Arrow— the ship's first officer. Arrow stood ramrod straight as always in his spotless red uniform, Moving and speaking with confidence in his craft and although he wasn't much the friendly type— William could see he was an excellent officer.

His firm and no nonsense leadership style often stood in contrast with Captain Amelia's more seemingly erratic, flexible, and ingenious style, but overall they worked quite well together. The Captain was young, fiercely intelligent, and ambitious which had lead to her being very highly ranked for her age and had chosen to take the junior officer under her mentorship to help prepare him for the next levels of command.

Although Captain Amelia and Lt. Commander Arrow were, without a doubt, Navy to the bone; they were technically operating independently from the Navy on this journey— even if they were still wearing their uniforms. Hence, the need to hire on a civilian crew. They were sailors that were most commonly referred to as buccaneers or privateers; civilian or reserve military personnel, operating a privately owned ship to harass or raid rival ships or shipping lanes.

Basically government sponsored pirates to fight the 'enemy' without starting a war with overt aggressions. It was a tactic put into practice by many of the largest powers at play in this corner of the universe. Currently the most common adversary was the Procyon Expanse that had, only a couple years ago, reluctantly agreed to a ceasefire to the bloody war they had been waging with the Terran Empire for decades over control of the largest and most stable Etherium currents. With many people now very reluctant to go back to war— and despite their obvious antagonistic attitude towards each other— both sides refused to take overt aggression. Thus resulting in unofficial sponsorships of officers like the Captain and the Lt. Commander to go into a reserve status and 'privately' hit the Procyon's where it hurt.

From what William could gather this would be Arrow's final journey before taking the test and going through the process of promotion to Commander— which meant independent command of a larger vessel similar in class to the _Legacy_. Through the entire morning, Arrow had been in sole command of the ship and getting ready to set off, with the Captain darting around the ship and watching his actions from unseen positions— looking meticulously for errors.

Her current hiding place was hanging from a rope from one of the highest parts of the Mainmast. Although she was hidden behind the folded up solar sail, William had known she was there for a while— watching Arrow's actions— and he guessed that the first officer had also discovered her location by now as well.

Most of the time, William couldn't help but find their back and forth a bit enjoyable to watch. His thoughts strayed from the command team however when he saw an even more interesting, and seemingly out of place, duo— walk up the gangplank and onto the bustling deck. After finishing with the final crate, William studied the unusual sight.

The most eye catching one seemed to be a man of some sort— possibly a canine male— who was wearing an outfit he had obviously been conned into buying. It appeared to be an old set of jerry-rigged Void Diving equipment— accompanied by an overly stocked backpack with numerous tools and useless add-ons hanging off the sides and tied to the outside. William laughed and the man's impulse to over prepare; their destination may exist on the edge of known space but it was still easily within the Etherium so a Void diving suit wouldn't be necessary unless things went _very_ wrong.

The Etherium is an inter connected section or multiple sections of space, along the spiraling arms of the Milky way galaxy, that contain breathable air and were the only parts that life was known to exist. A related phenomenon, know as Etherium currents, were pathways of Etherium that stretched between the empty area's in-between the Etherium and made travel easier and faster between the arms of the Milky Way Galaxy. The Void, as it was dubbed, was the space outside of the Etherium that was had no breathable air and thus remained relatively unexplored— also partially due to the fact that only a few brave souls had ever had the intestinal fortitude to equip a void diving suit and venture into the unknown.

In front of that man, walked a young woman— who if William had to guess was somewhere near his age or a bit younger with a look of child-like amazement on her face. She was much more normally dressed than her companion— albeit in commonly male clothes rather than female ones but, on a ship that was probably a good idea.

'Not really what I expected them to look like…' He thought.

He began to make his way closer, while he continued to look at her. He noticed she had shoulder length brown hair with blonde highlights, streaking through a majority of it. Lost in his observation he misplaced one of his steps and slipped— losing his balance on the yardarm he was walking on before quickly grabbing a nearby rope and catching himself before he fell the the deck.

As soon as he could, he pulled himself back onto his feet— hoping no one had just seen him. When he looked back to where his original focus was however, he was met with an amused gaze from a pair of honey colored eyes. The young lady he had been observing was looking up at him as she walked, clearly having seen him almost fall and catch himself in a rather undignified manner. William quickly turned his attention away to check that the already secured sail was extra secure.

When he glanced back around, he saw the same member of the crew that had woken him up this morning, farting furiously at the girl— via the numerous tentacles across his body. It appeared like she had done something to offend him but, wasn't sure what to say to calm him down.

While William was wondering if the confrontation would amount to anything serious, her older companion stepped in front of her and said; "Allow me to handle this." Then proceeding to make various farting noises via his mouth and armpit. The previously agitated crew member looked slightly surprised before letting out what was clearly a laugh and went about communicating back and forth with the man.

"Well, damn. I didn't expect that either." William said quietly to himself, with a smile ghosting across his face. He saw them move to Arrow and start speaking but, before William could make his way closer he saw a flash of blue flipping and jumping through the rigging— out of the corner of his eye. Captain Amelia had finally come down from her hiding spot and she was probably trying to show off a little in front of the financier of the expedition. She finally passed him by, swinging down on a rope before letting go in mid-air, completing a backflip and landing on the deck— perfectly poised.

After moving closer to listen in on their conversation, William settled into a menial task that left his back to them and would make him look busy if he drew their attention while he eavesdropped.

It was the Captain he heard speak first, casually strolling forward and addressing Arrow first in a firm voice. "Mr. Arrow, I have checked this miserable ship from stem to stern and as usual…" A friendly tone entered her voice, "It's spot on. Can you get nothing wrong?"

William turned his head slightly to see a small smile break through the first officer's rocky features as he lifted his hat off his head and gave a small bow. "You flatter me, Captain."

Her smile dropped and she turned her attention to the two newcomers on her ship. She stepped right in front of the canine man in the void diving suit and she let an amused look color her face when she started speaking.

"Ah, Dr. Doppler, I presume." She said, before interrupting his stammering response— muffled by the enclosed helmet around his head. "Hello? Can you hear me in there?" Knocking on his helmet and irritating him.

"Yes, yes I can— Stop that banging!" He responded, trying to get his helmet off.

"If I may doctor." The Captain stated, quickly grabbing the power unit on the front of his suit and turning it and grabbing hold of a retractable cord. "It works so much better if it's, right way up and…plugged in." Pulling the cord out and forcibly spinning his body so he was facing away from her before shoving the connection into the socket that was place right over his rear end, with much more force than seemed necessary.

The doctor jumped in surprise and spun back around, finally pulling off his helmet and pulling the plug back out then wagging it at her slightly.

"If you don't mind, I can manage my own plugging!" Ignoring his irritation, the Captain simply took his outstretched hand and shook it in a normal handshake while she introduced herself.

"I am Captain Amelia Mayflower, owner and commander of this vessel— the RLS Legacy. Both late a few run-ins with the Procyon Armada— nasty business, but I won't bore you with my scars." Her words came fast-paced, leaving the doctor no room to cut in as she continued and gestured to Arrow.

"You've met my first officer, Lt. Commander Samuel Arrow— sterling, tough, dependable, brave, honest, and true."

"You are too kind, Captain." Arrow said, with a proud smile— he would probably be blushing if he had the ability.

"Oh shut up Sam, you know I don't mean a word of it." The Captain threw back in a jovial voice.

Dr, Doppler finally cut in by clearing his throat. "Yes, yes—Well, nice to meet you both. I am Doctor Delbert Doppler, as you already know, and this," he said indicating his younger female companion. "is Juliet Hawkins; the one who discovered the treasur—"

The doctor's words were abruptly stopped when the Captain clamped his mouth in an iron grip and quickly looked around for anyone who was listening. William made an extra effort to look concentrated on his fabricated task when he felt her gaze linger on him— probably since he was the closest crew member. He reached down and scratched an itch on his left ass cheek, barely keeping in his laughter at the Captain's almost palpable disgust at his scruffy and disheveled appearance and attitude that stood in such harsh contrast to her own, perfectly poised and elegant manner.

Shaking her head slightly she turned back to the doctor— whose face was still caught in her vice-like grip.

"Doctor, I would like a private word with the both of you in my cabin." She said quietly, before turning and leading the small group back to her personal quarters. As soon as the door shut and locked, William grabbed onto the nearby rigging and slid down a rope to get lower before dropping to the deck.

"How much of that did you get?" a nearby crew member asked quietly.

"Enough." He responded simply, before turning towards the galley.

—

"She won't have anything more than a gut feeling to go on, so it probably won't amount to anything as long as I am careful not to attract anymore negative attention." William said, handing a large pot to Silver. 'And as long as she doesn't recognize me somehow…' He thought to himself but chose not to share with Silver.

"Well, I suppose that's the best we can hope for, for now." Silver responded while he set the pot on the fire and started preparing a stew. William moved to pull down the ingredients that he knew the cyborg would need for the familiar dish. Silver saw that the correct ingredients had been laid out for him and gave the younger man a curious sidelong look.

"Don't look at me like that. I may not be amazing in a kitchen, but bonza beast stew is a pretty common dish— easy, fast and simple." William explained, a small smile coming across his face as he thought back to the many shared meals he had helped make in his earlier years.

"Well you may have made some wild man, barebones, bonza beast stew but what I am cookin' right here is a special family recipe for bonza beast stew!" Silver said with a bright smile and grandiose movements. "The likes a which ya never experienced before!"

"Oh, I beseech thee, great clanking one, teach me the secrets of the bonza beast stew." William said with a laugh and an exaggerated reverence. "Whats so special that you add into it?" He added in a normal voice.

Silver just shook his head with a smile. "You ain't gonna get my secrets that easily. If it was that easy then even the Procyons would be makin' it by now!"

Their conversation was interrupted when they heard voices and foot steps descending down the stairs to the galley.

"I'll not tolerate a crossword about our captain; There is no finer officer in this, nor any galaxy!" Arrow's voice said, carrying easily down the stairs.

William rolled his eyes, leaned back against the counter a bit deeper in the kitchen and crossed his arms casually as the group with Arrow, the Financier, and the younger female neared. He sat in the shadows and refrained from moving so he could watch the interaction while escaping notice.

"Mr. Silver." Arrow called out.

"Why Mr. Arrow, sir; bringin' such fine and distinguished guests to grace my humble galley," Silver said with a jolly kiss-ass charm while he wiped in hands and came forward out of the kitchen section. "Had I known I would of tucked in me shirt." Tucking his apron into his pants to emphasize it as a light hearted joke.

When Silver stepped forward out of the kitchen, William noted the way the girl's eyes locked onto Silver.

"May I introduce, Doctor Doppler, the financier of our journey." Arrow said, gesturing to the man in the void diving suit.

"Love the outfit doc." Silver said, scanning over it with a red laser from his cybernetic eye— which clearly made the canine uncomfortable because he immediately started to cover up his body with his hands. As if he thought Silver's eye had some x-ray function.

"Oh, ah…yes well thank you— love the eye…" The doctor fumbled out, before turning and grabbing the female and pushing her forward into the line of fire. "This young lady here is Juliet Hawkins."

"Julie!" Silver said, happy for yet another person he could assign a nickname to, extending out what looked like a hand made out of sharp and dangerous looking instruments meant for cooking— pausing when he noticed then switching back to his regular hand before he extended it in an offered handshake once again.

The young woman's eyes narrowed suspiciously and she held her stance and left her hands at her sides. William's eyebrows came together in a second of confusion. Most people were sometimes put off slightly by cybernetics and the like but, this seemed to be something else.

Silver saw that he wasn't going to get a handshake in return and he played it off. "Ah, don't be put off to much by this ol' hunk of hardware, lass."

He moved back over the the ingredients and began cutting and preparing them in a fantastic show of coordination and skill that was exceptionally rare for people using prosthetics to typically have. Cutting up ingredients and tossing them in the air while switching tools in his arm, adding it all together into a smaller pan and putting a flame under it before throwing it into the larger pot and mixing it. "They do come in mighty handy from time to time."

Silver pulled out two bowls, ladled scoops of stew into them and handed both of the new comers a bowl. "Here ya go, have a taste of me famous bonza beast stew." He said before leaning back and looking at them expectantly.

Juliet's suspicious look didn't pass from her face as she glanced back and forth from the cook to the contents of the bowl. The doctor on the other hand sniffed and then lapped lightly at the stew. "Mmmm! Delightfully tangy and…robust."

"Old family recipe." silver said proudly, then seeing the doctor's surprise when an eyeball floated to the top of his stew. "In fact, that was part of the old family!" Silver added before throwing his head back in laughter and slapping the doctor on the back.

The doctor looked rather uncomfortable again. Silver's laughter slowed down and grabbed the eyeball and tossed it into his mouth. "Just kiddin' Doc; nothing if I ain't a kidder."

"Go on Julie, give it a swig." He said, to the young woman who wasn't looking so hungry at the moment. She bravely picked up a scoop in the spoon, pausing to look at it to make sure she didn't get any eyeballs or anymore pieces of the old family. Her spoon however suddenly turned pink and translucent in her hand and a mouth closed around the scoop of stew with a smile.

The spoon soon slipped out of her hand and formed into a pink floating blob before turning into a straw and sucking up the rest of Julie's stew— burping when he was done, looking rather content sitting in the now empty bowl in a once again gelatinous state.

"Morph! you bubble-headed blob of mischief!" Silver said, with a mock stern voice. "Thats where you've been hiding all of this time."

Morph floated up in front of Julie's face to inspect her while she inspected him.

"What is this thing?" Julie asked, poking the blob with her hand and watching him split apart in multiple little pieces before reforming on her finger in a miniature version of her.

"That's a morph." Silver answered simply. Morph flew over to him and licked his face and nuzzled into his cheek. "Saved the little fella on Proteus I. He took a shine to me and we've been together ever since."

Arrow cleared his throat before cutting in. "Well, that's all well and good, but it's about time to get underway." Turning to Dr. Doppler he asked: "Would you like to watch the launch doctor?"

The doctor lit up, excitedly. "Would I? Does an active galactic nuclei have superluminal jets?" Looking at the blank expression on Arrow's face he added more quietly; "I'll follow you."

The party of three began to move towards the stairway and Silver went back to his cooking pot of stew, but Arrow held out a hand and stopped the young girl. "Miss Hawkins will be staying here, under your charge, Mr. Silver."

Upon hearing this Silver coughed up the spoon of stew he had been taste-testing and joined Juliet in sputtering out in protest. "Beg your pardon sir, but—"

"Captain's orders!" Arrow said harshly, leaving no room for discussion. "See to it that this new cabin girl is kept busy."

Both Silver and Juliet tried to give more excuses but gave up when the first officer simply ignored them and disappeared out onto the deck. They both deflated slightly.

"So the Captain's put you with me…" Silver said after a long and awkward silence, looking over the young woman before shrugging and turning back to the pot. "…Ehh, Who be a humble cyborg to argue with a Captain." He stated, resigning himself to the hand he had been dealt.

"Well, at least, you will have some company." Silver added, before turning his head towards where William still sat— unnoticed thus far. "Say hello Willy, she'll working with you from now on, show her the ropes and keep her out of trouble."

William felt slightly embarrassed at the nickname Silver had given him but refused to show it on his face when he moved out of the shadow and into easy sight— receiving a surprised look from the female. William gave a slight wave in her direction.

After recovering from her initial surprise he saw a flash of recognition flash over her face. Amusement also came and went quickly before suspicion narrowed her eyes once again as she looked between the two— obviously deciding that the two men seemed close enough to classify William as 'guilty by association' of whatever she suspected Silver of.

Her demeanor changed to more casual after a moment as she walked over and grabbed one of the fresh purps out of the open barrel, then sitting on one of the counters as she spoke. "You know…these purps remind me a lot of the ones back on Montressor; you guys ever been there?"

"I can't say I have, Julie." Silver said, not turning away from the pot. When her eyes fell on William, he shrugged nonchalantly. "This is my first time in this system and I have been pretty much stuck here on the ship." He lied, thinking back to very old and very new memories of being on the dusty planet's surface.

Juliet seemed unfazed by their denial and continued, still in a casual voice. "Come to think of it, just before I left…I met this old guy, who was looking for a cyborg buddy of his." Her eyes sharply examined each of them for any reactions.

"Is that so?" Silver said, sounding like he was barely paying attention.

"Yeah. What was that old salamander's name?" She said, tapping her chin as if trying to remember. "Oh, yeah. Bones, Billy Bones."

"Bones, hmm. Bones?" Silver said, as if testing out how it sounded. "Mm-mmm. T'ain't ringin' any bells."

"Must have been a different cyborg." William added. "There is a slew of them around since the war ended not too long ago. Cybernetics are the most popular prosthetics around."

Juliet bit her lip, seeming slightly annoyed at such a logical response. The conversation was thankfully cut short by the whistle of the boatswain's call from the deck— followed by Arrow's command, "Prepare to cast off!"

"Eh, off with you, lass. Go and watch the launch." Silver said, waving her off with a casual smile. "There'll be plenty of work a-waitin' for you afterwards."

The excitement that bubbled up in Juliet's face eventually won over the suspicion and she nodded and ran up the stairs. Silver looked over and William and jerked his head in the direction of the stairs. "You too, Willy."

William nodded silently and made his way up the stairs.

—

Juliet

—

She stood there blinking for a few seconds, listening to the flurry of noises on deck while her eyes slowly adjusted to the light.

"ALL HANDS TO STATIONS!" Bellowed the stone like first officer she had met earlier; causing an explosion of movement around the deck. Everything seemed to be moving as Julie walked around on the deck.

"LOOSE ALL SOLAR SAILS!" She heard Arrow call. Looking up in wonder, she watched as the sails fell into place and came to life with the energy of the nearby star. Her attention was stolen for a moment when a crew member who was pulling on a rope shoved into her and yelled at her in a scratchy voice to get out of the way.

Quickly making her way over the the side of the ship, she felt the deck move and looked over to see the dock slowly getting further away. As they got further away Julie felt herself slowly rising off the deck of the ship; looking around she saw the rest of the crew floating up as well. She couldn't stop the smile from coming across her face while she tried to keep her feet under her; when the artificial gravity was activated by Mr. Snuff— the farting crew member she and Delbert had encountered yesterday— she landed lightly on her feet.

The bow of the ship slowly swung upwards, towards the bright center of the galaxy. Julie was filled with excitement at the thought of what was to come as she looked out over the bow to the adventure that was waiting.

"You might want to hold onto something." A voice said behind her. She glanced back to find the cabin boy from the galley with one hand grabbing the lower part of the shrouds. Julie huffed out a breath and rolled her eyes before turning back towards the bow. She had become an expert at riding solar surfers at top speeds, so she was confident that she could handle whatever this large ship had to offer.

"TAKE HER AWAY!" Arrow ordered into a comm down to the engine room. For a few seconds nothing happened, then the ship seemed to catapult away and Julie's firmly planted feet slid from under her and she was propelled backwards before jerking to a halt when she felt something attach to the back of her jacket— stopping her from tumbling down the deck into something or someone behind her.

She looked up to find the muscular and tattooed arm of the cabin boy, 'Willy,' the cyborg had called him, was holding her firmly by the back of her collar and giving her an annoyed look. Her cheeks were slightly red when he finally pulled her up so she could grab onto the shrouds in front of him.

Once she had a secure hold on the rigging, Julie looked back to find that the young man was already climbing up the shrouds above her. Shrugging she followed him and climbed to a good height off the deck; looping an arm and a leg in the rigging, she leaned out and couldn't help but gasp when she saw a pod of large creatures the ship floated into the midst of.

"Orcas Galacticus." She said, before she vaguely heard Delbert saying something similar and try to take a picture of one before catching— what could only be described as— 10 kilos of snot from the blowhole of one of the creatures with his face.

Julie laughed, looking out at the gigantic creatures that flew through the Etherium. They were large but seemed rather graceful in their movements, one passed close by the side of the ship and gave the young woman an cursory glance before moving off with the rest of the pod. The _Legacy_ slowly broke away from the group of creatures as it continued on its way.

It was a few minutes later that Julie finally tore her attention away from the stars; she looked up and down the shrouds and realized the cabin boy who had helped her earlier was no longer nearby. 'Guess I will say thanks later then.'

"Julie!" She heard the cook call as he came across the deck towards her with his hands behind his back and a smile on his face. "I got two new friends I'd like ya ta meet."

More excited than she would be willing to admit, Julie climbed down to the the deck and look around expectantly.

"Say hello to Mr. Mop," Silver said, tossing a mop from behind his back, soon followed by a bucket. "And Mrs. Bucket."

Catching both with a sullen expression, Julie simply replied "Yippie."

—

"I got your Mr. Mop." The young woman said to herself, thoroughly annoyed that she was the only one made to clean the huge main deck of the ship. She was even more annoyed at the continued movements of the crew over the areas she had already mopped; it almost seemed like a purposeful attempt to negate her efforts at cleaning.

She was broken out of her thoughts by a large limb shoved her back a few steps when a passing four-armed crew member came too close to her.

"Watch it, Twerp!" The very large creature said harshly before stomping away. Julie bristled slightly but, stayed silent. She may have been a good fighter in general but, against that giant mass of moving flesh with multiple arms with only a wet mop— she wasn't exactly confident in her odds. Julie thought more about her earlier encounters with the crew— namely the cyborg and that cabin boy.

She didn't really have any reason to be suspicious of the cook because she honestly wasn't sure how common cyborgs were nowadays; that cabin boy made a pretty logical point about the war, so it may have really just been a coincidence. However, the way that same cabin boy had seemingly materialized from the shadows of the galley had been uncanny. He just felt…different than anyone she had previously know but, she could figure out why.

'He did help me out, by not letting me bounce around the deck during the launch, though…' Julie thought to herself, not really sure what to think about him— or anyone else on the ship besides Delbert for that matter.

While she was lost in thought the cabin girl accidentally strayed too close to an ongoing, whispered conversation. Upon noticing the whispers, Julie looked up and made eye contact with one of the whispering crew members and he smacked his friend's arms and drew the other two's attention to the nearby girl with a mop.

Julie turned her attention back to the mop but when she glanced up again she found all of their eyes on her and scowls on their faces.

"What are you looking at weirdo?" Said one to the three. To Julie's surprise the 'head' of the one who had said that crawled off the shoulders of what she had thought was his torso with tentacles that she had thought was hair. A face appeared on the creature she had thought was a torso and agreed with his former 'head' that had crawled onto the barrel in-between the four crew members. "Ya, fuckin' weirdo!"

Julie wasn't sure what to say back but, she missed her chance to respond when she heard a hissing noise coming from the shrouds above her. She looked up to find a large red and black arachnid-like crew member coming down towards her.

"Cabin girls should learn to mind their own businesssss." he said, when he finally stepped onto the deck and loomed above her threateningly. 'Why does everyone who has a problem with me have to be double my size?' Julie thought to herself.

"Why, you got something to hide, bright-eyes?" Julie responded, still half paying attention to mopping. This didn't seem to entertain the spider-guy so much because he proceeded to lift her off her feet by her collar and speak even closer to her face.

"Maybe your ears don't work sss'well." He hissed at her, causing her to grimace as she caught some of his breath.

"Too bad my nose works just fine." She said truthfully— only succeeding to piss him off more.

"Why you impudent little worm!" He said, before pinning her roughly against the mast a few feet off the deck. Other members of the crew who had begun to drift closer, now gathered around them cheering on the fight. Most of them, Julie noted, were cheering for the arachnid to start slicing her with his claws. One of which found it's way under her chin. Her feet dangled in the air and she fought harder to breath as he pressed the claw holding her up into her neck.

"Any last wordss, Cabin girl?" He hissed out before another voice responded from nearby. "I should be asking you the same question, Scroop."

They both looked over to see the cabin boy stepping through the cheering crew members.

"Stay out of this Cabin Boy!" Scoop said, taking the claw that was under Julie's chin and pointing it at him while he kept Julie suspending against the mast with the other. The young man didn't show any sign of wavering at the threat.

"Scroop." He said in an eerily calm voice. "Put her down." Before the arachnid could respond, the gathered crowd grew quiet and a metal clamp captured Scroop's claw that was pointed at the young man.

"Mr. Scroop." Said Silver's voice. All eyes fell onto him as he continued speaking while casually eating a purp. "You ever see what happens to a fresh purp, when you squeeze real _**Hard**_." The metal clamp squeezing down on the arachnid's claw with so much strength that it made the arachnid yelp out in pain and suddenly let go of young woman.

Julie fell to the deck, abruptly landing on her ass and supported herself with an arm while she gratefully sucked in air.

"What's all this then?" Came the firm voice of the first officer, as he came down the stairs. The crew quickly started dispersing, trying to avoid the attention of Mr. Arrow. Julie picked herself up as he continued to speak to the crew, "You know the rules. There will be no brawling on this ship; any further offenders will be confined to the brig for the remainder of the voyage."

Then leaning down and speaking directly to the arachnid in a lower tone, "Am I clear, Mr. Scroop?"

Scroop growled slightly under his breath but, responded; "Transparently."

Satisfied, Arrow stood back to his full height and marched off, straight backed and squared in his shoulders.

"Well done, Mr. Arrow, sir!" Silver said in a somewhat kiss-ass sounding voice; shooing off the other members of the crew as he continued. "A tight ship's a happy ship!" Once the first officer was out of ear shot Silver turned to Julie and grabbed the discarded mop off the deck.

"Julie!" Silver said, pointing at Mr. Mop. "I gave you a job to do!"

"I was trying to do it before that bug-thing—" She started to defend herself before Silver cut her off; "Belay that!"

Silver then turned his eyes towards the cabin boy who was slowly trying to slip away. "Don't even think about trying to dodge me Willy!"

The young man mumbled something under his breath and came over to stand next to Julie with a sullen expression on his face while Silver continued to berate him. "I told you to watch her back and keep her out of trouble, you will never be anything more than a blimey cabin boy if you can't even do what you're told!"

The young man stayed silent and Silver shoved the mop into his hands, then shoved the bucket into Julie's hands and after searching for a second found a scrubbing brush and tossed it into the bucket. "I want this deck swabbed spotless!" The cyborg said to the two. "Heaven help ya if I come up here again and find it ain't done!"

The cyborg turned to the pink blob on his shoulder. "Morph, I want you to keep an eye on these pups. Let me know if there be any more distractions."

The small blob saluted, making an affirmative noise and made his eyes double the size of his body to look down at them as the cook moved off back to the galley. Julie huffed out an annoyed breath and looked over at her now co-cleaner who had an emotionless look on his face.

"Start cleaning. I'll go grab another bucket." He said, turning and walking away before she could say anything which only seemed to annoy her more.

—

"You could have at least said something." Julie grumbled as she pushed the brush back and forth like she had for the last few hours. "He might have actually listened to you."

"He was right, you didn't do your job and I didn't do mine." The young man that was mopping close by responded flatly. "And complaining isn't gonna get this deck clean any faster, so be quiet."

"Whatever, you're just fine because you aren't the one with the fucking brush." Julie snapped, shooting a venomous look from where she was kneeling on the deck. She looked back down at the brush and started pushing it roughly back and forth. Julie knew it wasn't his fault and that snapping at the only person who had helped her out thus far on this ship wasn't a good idea; but she was frustrated and felt an itch for a cigarette. The brush was suddenly snatched from her grasp and when she looked up at the cabin boy he shoved the mop into her hands and turned back to his task.

"Oh, uh…thanks." Julie mumbled, feeling guilty for directing her anger at him. He only grunted in response and started scrubbing the deck diligently. She started mopping but within ten minutes felt the need to at least say something to break the silence. Morph floated around her before turning into a mop and swabbing around where she stood, sliding over the young man's hand and then over Julie's boot.

Julie smiled down at the blob, turned miniature mop, before it flew up and floated around her head— turning into a pink blob once again. Letting out a sigh she leaned on her mop and spoke to the friendly blob.

"Well this has been a fun day, huh?" She said, "Making new friends, like that spider-psycho."

Morph changed into a miniature version of the arachnid and mimicked her words in a small squeaky voice. "Spider-psycho! spider-psycho!"

"A little uglier." She said with a smile. Morph stretched the face and let out a maniacal laugh which in turn made Julie laugh for real for the first time in a couple weeks.

Morph flew over to the nearby cabin boy who had stopped scrubbing to watch and gave him the same show. A small smile came across his face. "Pretty close."

"I don't know how you manage to work on the same ship as guys like that." Julie said to the young man. He thought for a moment before getting up and leaning against the bulwark and looking up at the passing stars. "I haven't really been with them for very long, but if you keep your head down and do your work then they won't bother you. Hell, they even might start to acknowledge you in passing."

Julie raised her eyebrow at that. "Seems like they somewhat tolerate you so far; how long have you been with them?"

Again, he thought for a few moments as if debating on whether to tell her or not. Apparently deciding it couldn't hurt he responded. "I think it's been about a month so far. It was a bit rough at the start since I didn't have all that much experience compared to everyone else as far as being a spacer went, but it worked out in the end. A few scuffles with a few members of the crew and a whole lot of hard work later and here I am— everyone's favorite cabin boy." He finished with an exaggerated bow.

He heard the young woman let out a laugh at his response. "Well, I'm glad they accepted you— despite you still slipping off the yardarms and almost flopping onto the deck, _**Willy**_."

'Willy' grimaced slightly and sent her an annoyed look, only to be met with the same amused look he had gotten earlier that morning. The unwavering smirk on her face made him roll his eyes with a groan.

"Just William or Will is fine." He said. "Silver just likes giving everyone nicknames; your lucky he just shortened yours."

"Well then" The young woman said, stepping closer to him and extending her hand in an offered handshake. "Juliet Hawkins. Most people call me Julie."

"William Kepler; Most people call me Will." He said, taking her outstretched hand in a firm grip.

"Well, look at this." Said a voice from nearby causing them to both turn and see Silver carrying a large pot of left over scraps from dinner. "Up here for more than a couple of hours and the deck's still in one piece. T'ank heaven fer small miracles."

Julie felt the warmth of Will's callused hand leave hers and he went to pick up the brush again. "Look, uh…" She started, drawing both of their attention. "For what you guys did…well, Thanks…for looking out for me." She finally managed to get out while looking between them, switching the mop between her hands.

Will leaned back against the bulwark again, not sure how to respond to the sincerity in her voice; Silver was the first to respond. "It's no problem, Lass. But didn't yer pap ever teach ya to pick your fights a bit more carefully?" He said in a friendly voice while he tossed the scraps over the side of the ship. At his words Julie's face fell a bit and the warmth slip away and she went back to mopping.

Will and Silver exchanged a look and Silver spoke again. "Your father's not the teachin' sort, huh?"

"Nah…He was the takin' off and never comin' back sort." She said with a hard bitterness in her voice. Will felt a familiar bitterness that he had carried since he was young burn slightly in his chest.

"Oh…" Silver responded a little softer before putting the pot down and walking over to lean on the bulwark next to where Julie was mopping and Will was sitting. "Sorry, Lass."

"Hey, no big deal." She said, trying to shrug her shoulders nonchalantly— sounding more like she was trying to convince herself rather than either of them. "I'm doing just fine— really."

"Is that so?" Silver said, rubbing his chin and looking over to the girl.

"Well, since the Captain's put you in my charge— like it or not— I'll be pounding a few skills into that thick head of yours to keep you out of trouble!" Silver said enthusiastically, poking his finger into Julie's forehead to illustrate his point.

"What?!" Julie said in disbelief.

"From now on I won't be lettin' you out of me sight!"

"Y-you can't do that!" Julie protested.

"You won't so much as eat, sleep, or scratch yer bum without my say so!" Silver threw back, slamming his bionic hand down on the bulwark with an even wider smile on his face at her protests.

"Don't do me any favors!" Julie spat, thoroughly annoyed.

Silver pat her on the head, good-naturedly. "Oh, you can be sure of that, Lass. You can be sure of that." Julie bristled and pushed his heavy hand away and looked back at him with all the ferociousness of an angry kitten and a frizzy mess of hair. Before she could protest any further Silver turned to Will, who was still sitting on the bulwark watching the interaction.

"Don't think you will be getting out the fun, Willy ma boy!" William opened his mouth about to protest but closed it once again and rolled his eyes knowing he couldn't escape his fate. "Yes, sir."

"Now, that's what I like ta hear."Silver said, then turned back to Julie. "You could learn a thing or two from 'im, Lass."

Julie just let out a groan and watched as the cyborg walked away while he whistled a jolly tune that was vaguely familiar. "I can't believe that guy, how can anyone work with him?!" Julie said, looking back to find Will already back to scrubbing the deck.

"You get used to it." He responded simply. "Now, Let's get to work; no doubt we will be up again in a few hours."

With a heavy groan, Julie went back to mopping— at least grateful that they were almost done with the cleaning. "Guess this is my life now, so I better just get use to it." She said, sullenly resigning herself to whatever Silver had planned.

"Now, you're starting to get it." Will said, with a smirk she could practically hear slide across his face.

.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch#4: Time flies when your having fun.

"Wake up." He whispered quietly, while he shook her softly by the shoulder. "Julie, it's time to get up."

Her only response was to roll over and groan.

"I know you're awake, Julie." William said, rolling his eyes in the half-light of the _Legacy's_ sleeping bay. "If you don't get up and get ready, I am gonna flip you out onto the floor like I did last week." After that Julie immediately sat up and glared at him through a half-awake haze.

"Ass…" She mumbled as she ran a hand over her face and slipped out of her hammock.

"Yeah, I know." William stately simply. "Now hurry up, we have to get to galley and help with breakfast. Silver will have my ass if you aren't with me."

"I know, I know— keep your shirt on." Julie said with a dismissive wave while she grabbed a bundle of clean clothes and moved behind a nearby makeshift partition.

Being the only female in a room full of males was a little bit strange at first but, Julie had gotten used to it over the last 3ish months. It was made easier by the fact that the only humans on the ship were her and William— who hadn't shown even the slightest interest in her as a member of the opposite sex, at least none that she had noticed.

However, he had been the one to help her string up a couple sheets to create a partition for her to change behind in the corner near their beds; so he was at least _aware_ of the fact that she was female. Julie told herself that a lack of male attention was a good thing— since the last person she had a seemingly mutual attraction towards was planning on betraying her in the most vicious way she could imagine. She couldn't stop the cold shiver from traveling through her body at the thought of what would have happened if she hadn't overheard their plan. But, as far as she was concerned Will didn't seem even remotely the type to do something like that.

'Then again, Matty didn't seem the type either…' She thought bitterly to herself.

He was quiet most of the time they were working together, but they had managed to build a good working relationship and sometimes it felt like they were actually something akin to friends. But, he still remained an enigma that ignited her curiosity to no end. No matter how much she tried to inquire about what he did before he was sailing under Silver he would just grunt, give a vague answer, or steer the conversation away from the topic. Over the time they had been together she had also been able to steal occasional glances at the tattoos on his when he had rolled his sleeves up. She _definitely_ didn't take specific notice of how muscular and defined his arms and shoulders were.

The right forearm had a lighthouse with waves crashing over it and tortoise over his right elbow— both seemed like typical sailing tattoos. There was another one that drew her attention more so, on his left forearm; it was a sword with a broken and bloodied blade; drawn above a date and words that read: "Never Forget." She knew he had other tattoos under his shirt but he made it a point to never take it off in the company of others, apparently, because she had yet to catch more than a glimpse of any of the others. His only other notable features were faded scars here and there on his arms and hands, with one long one that traveled across the bridge of his nose from cheekbone to cheekbone— sitting about an inch beneath his blue/green eyes.

'Why am I thinking about his eyes? Should it even matter what color they are?' Julie thought to herself as she finished changing and followed Will up onto the deck and about their normal duties.

Despite all the effort she had taken in observing her co-worker, it slowly became less and less out of suspicion and more our of curiosity. She still somewhat held the same suspicion in regards to the rest of the crew, but Silver, and Will especially, seemed to be different. They were kind, hard-working, and mischief-loving people— They did their jobs well and helped wherever they could. Julie felt she was fitting in quite well thanks to them.

Silver had taken on a somewhat parental role in guiding the two young people. He was a patient and knowledgable teacher, with a genuine empathy for Julie's family circumstances— due to the fact that Silver had come from a similar situation. He had been teaching her numerous things about ship life. From cleaning and cooking to working in the rigging and steering from the helm, Silver seemed to be an expert in all of it.

Whatever she didn't understand Will had been there to guide her. The memory of his warm and callused hands guiding hers through the myriad of different knots had stuck in her brain for whatever reason and resurfaced unconsciously at times.

While Silver fell into a father-like role in her time aboard the _Legacy_ — not that she would ever admit that consciously to herself or anyone else— the cabin boy felt like a unique existence that she didn't quite know how to categorize. He never talked about himself, rarely showed any emotion, and barely even said a word most of the time; but his steady presence by her side, day in and day out, slowly became familiar and even comforting at times. She hadn't had many friends in her life so it felt good to have someone to suffer through the menial tasks with, alone and so far from home.

She had only spent time with Dr. Doppler a handful of times because he was usually with the Captain and first officer. Often times the cabin girl would be asked to come to the Captain's quarters so she could open the map. Julie had also been invited to dine with them on occasion but, she always opted to eat with the crew.

Thus her daily life— filled with hard work, long hours, and pleasant company— seemed to pass by exceedingly fast. They had departed the Montressor system in late May and it was already mid-August. She often times thought about her home world in the quiet moments before she fell asleep. She had finally gotten the adventure she had dreamed of, discovering long lost treasure and then returning home as the hero. She finally felt free from the burden of the stagnate and dead-end life.

She couldn't wait to see the look on that stupid mayor's face when he finds out she was the one who found the treasure. A slightly devious smirk came across her face at the thought while she worked.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Will asked after glancing up at her. Julie snapped out of her daydream and felt her cheeks slightly flush.

"I-it's nothing, just thought of something funny." She mumbled as she went back to hammering the back end of her pick, ignoring his slightly confused expression.

"Dork." He mumbled with something that sounded like a snort mixed with a chuckle.

They had been tasked with cleaning the outer hull of barnacles and other things that had made their home on the sides and bottom of the ship— while sitting on a wooden plank that was attached to the deck via ropes.

"Shut up, douche canoe." She responded, tossing a detached barnacle at his head; which started a barnacle fight that lasted until Silver came to check on them and threatened to shake them loose of the seats if they didn't get back to work. She could just barely make out a smile on Will's face before they got back to work.

—

Julie had sweat dripping off her as she removed a large barnacle she had been working on for a few minutes with a pick and hammer. "Finally!" She yelled in exhausted triumph. Her arms were dead tired after doing this for so long.

"Good job, now use that same energy on the next one." Will said from below her. "We don't have all day. The Captain wants the hull clean before we come dock at the spaceport."

Julie just grumbled under her breath in response and started working on the next one, turning her head slightly to look at their destination while her hands worked. Orion spaceport, was it's name. Situated in a system a few thousand kilometers from the Orion Nebula, which made for a very interesting looking view. Compared to her home system, this was a major port because it sat adjacent to a nexus of large Etherium currents that connected to multiple other systems within the empire— most notable of which was the Sol system, humanity's birthplace and the heart of the Terran empire.

This would be the first place they were going to stop for an extended period of time and Julie was ecstatic to be able to get off the ship and see what a system centered around a major port looked like compared to her home which was in a frontier system that had only been established within the last 50 years.

'Most importantly, I will finally be able to track down some _Motherfucking_ cigarets and alcohol!' She yell internally. Julie hadn't been allowed to attend the 'secret' drinking nights with most of the crew in the galley every Friday night on account of her being both underaged and still viewed as an outsider by a majority of the crew.

With that in mind she had fashioned a small backpack out of an empty sack and some leather straps she had acquired, that would remain unnoticed if she wore them under her jacket. Perfect for bringing items that had been forbidden onto the ship. She was abruptly pulled from her thoughts as a strong solar wind pushed the small seat she was sitting on— causing her to almost drop the pick and hammer she had been using on the barnacles.

"What the hell?" She said as she slipped the tools back into the tool belt that she had been given for this task. Another, stronger and hotter than usual, solar wind pushed her again and she had to put her foot out against the hull to keep from colliding with it. This had never happened before and Julie was a little confused before she saw Will pulling on the rope to make his seat ascend with urgency that she hadn't seen in his movements before.

"Julie, what are you waiting for?" He said when he rose up next to her. "Get your ass up onto deck unless you want to be smacking against the hull for the next couple of hours."

"Wait what?" Julie responded as she quickly followed after him. She felt the fatigued muscles in her arms screaming in protest but, she pushed through until she could finally reach the bulwark. Once they were safely on deck Julie noticed that more crew than usual were moving around and the warning bell, up by the helm, was being urgently rung.

"Will, what's happening?"

Will looked at her for a second before remembering she had never been off of her home planet before. "Those were abnormal solar winds. That means that there is probably a solar storm coming." He explained as they stowed away their seats and tool belts below deck. "It's caused by solar flares and other activity from local stars."

"How bad do they usually get?" Julie asked as they climbed the stairs back onto deck.

"They can get pretty bad but, they usually aren't to much more than an hour of rough sailing. You just have to know what to look for to judge how bad they are gonna get." He said.

"What would happen that would mean it was going to be bad?" The cabin girl asked.

He started to answer her before all wind and noise on the deck suddenly died.

On a typical day there would always be some kind of wind or noise; their sudden absence gave Julie the feeling that something was hanging over their heads, just waiting the drop.

"That." He whispered.

For a moment everyone was frozen with wide eyes before a voice broke the ominous silence.

" **ALL HANDS TO STATIONS!** " Captain Amelia called across the deck, causing a mad frenzy of motion by the crew towards the masts. Each member of the crew was grabbing a rope and tying one end to secure points on the mast and the other end around themselves before rushing back to their stations. She quickly followed suit and barely finished before a sudden jolt caused the deck to shift abruptly and nearly made her fall on her face.

" **SECURE THE SAILS!** " Commanded Arrow as the ship jerked and shuddered; the Etherium around the ship turning a hazy red erratically mixed with yellow. The air around the ship was also starting to heat up with every jarring gust of solar wind causing Julie to sweat again as she followed the rest of the crew towards the shrouds so that she could help with the sails.

Just as she was about to climb up she felt a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. She looked back to find Will yelling to her over the noise that filled everyone's ears. "Stay down here, it's not safe up there!" She managed to hear him say before the captain called out a command for him.

" **MR. KEPLER SECURE THOSE LIFELINES!** " Captain Amelia bellowed impressively clear, over the roar of the wind. Will rushed off towards the base of the masts to check that the lifelines were all secure, leaving Julie with one hand on the shrouds debating on what to do. The noise of a voice yelling for help hit her ears suddenly, over the wind.

She looked up to find a member of the crew hanging from highest yardarm the crossed the mainmast, barely managing to hang on with one hand. Julie looked around for someone else who heard and saw but, either no one else had managed to hear him or those that heard were deliberately ignoring him. She looked from Will, who was still checking the lifelines, back up to the crew member.

"Fuck it, he can yell at me later!" She said to herself before she started climbing towards the creature in distress. Once she got to the highest yardarm it felt like she had made a mistake.

Every jerk, shift, and sudden movement of the ship was amplified multiple times where she was trying to walk out on the narrow piece of timber. She glanced down at the rope that was supposed to act as her only lifeline if she fell and then around the ship— seeing most of the crew were just hanging onto anything solid that they could grab.

'I could really die if I fuck this up.' She finally understood why no-one had responded to this crew member's calls for help. 'But, if someone doesn't help him then he isn't gonna last much longer.'

She looked down again and saw that her hands were shaking; she noticed her legs felt weak as well. Despite this she still wobbled out towards the small creature that usually inhabited the crow's nest on the ship— serving as the ships lookout.

Somewhere from below her, she thought she heard her name being called but she ignored it as she inched out towards the small and frantic lookout with a dozen eyes all staring at her. As she got further out she had to switch to a crawl until she finally got within reach and stretched out her hand towards him.

"Grab my hand!" She yelled over the howling of the solar storm that was battering the ship. When they finally managed to grab hold of each other Julie was slightly surprised to find he had tentacles as his primary appendages rather than hands. It felt a little strange grabbing her hand but she was relieved to finally be able to pull him out of danger.

The two of them crawled their way back to the crow's nest and managed to climb in and hold onto each other for dear life. The lookout felt strangely like a stuffed animal she had as a little girl— albeit more fleshy and squishy. Sort of like hugging an octopus. She smiled slightly at that thought until the solar storm continued to rage.

—

Julie poked her head out of the crow's nest and looked around. Seeing that the sky had returned to it's usual calm mixture of colors she finally let out the breath she hadn't known she had been holding.

"I think we're in the clear." She said, standing and stretching out her limbs and back before looking down and seeing everyone detaching from their chosen anchoring points, as the Etherium around them returned to it's natural state. It had been roughly an hour of intense solar currents and winds that thundered through the Etherium but the ship seemed to have come out in one piece.

Julie began climbing out of the crows nest when she heard a small voice.

"T-thanks…for coming up here to help me." The small crew member said before disappearing back into the crow's nest.

"No problem." Julie said with a friendly smile. That smile would only stay on her face until she got down to deck and was met with Will's unamused expression. The young woman just went to stand in front of him and looked at her feet, knowing that he would probably yell at her or tell Silver and then he would yell at her and give her some menial task as punishment.

"You heard me when I said not to go up there because it was dangerous right?" He said in a neutral tone.

"Yes."

"So you understood that you probably could have gotten hurt or even died up there?"

"Yes."

"But you went up anyway?"

"I saw the lookout nearly falling off the ship and yelling for help, so yes. I went up. What else was I gonna do?" She replied. Will was quiet for a moment and Julie prepared for a bullshit cleaning task.

"Good job."

William turned on his heel and walked back to where they stowed their equipment. Julie continued to stand there and look at her feet, still expecting to be yelled at before she realized what he had said.

"Wait…what?!" She asked, looking up and jogging after him. "Did I just hear that right?"

"Only you didn't go deaf during the storm." He said, handing her back her tool belt and walking up to the deck again. Once again, leaving her scrambling to catch up with him again while she processed his statement. Will was a man of few words as it was. The most common response to most questions was a grunt and she had certainly never heard him give praise to anyone.

Julie wasn't sure what to say so she just followed behind him and went back to the task they had been working on before. She couldn't help but laugh when the strangeness finally sunk in as they lowered themselves down the side of the hull again.

"What's so hilarious?" Will asked with an eyebrow raised.

"It's just funny that the one time I have heard you say anything like praise to anyone it was for doing something you told them not to." She answered.

"I didn't say that because you didn't do what I said." Will explained; hammering away at the barnacles once again. "I said that because you acted selflessly. You knew there was danger but, went anyways."

Will lowered his tools for a moment and looked over at her and let a small smile cross his features. "Having the courage to help someone, despite being afraid and at the risk of your own life is something admirable as far as I'm concerned."

For the second time that day Julie was slightly taken aback by something Will had said— although this time felt much different. She stared back at him, unsure of how to respond.

Before she could formulate a response she saw Will lift his hand and reach towards her face slowly. She felt something in her chest tighten as his hand got closer but she remained still.

"H-hey what are you…" She started hesitantly before changing abruptly when she felt him flick her forehead.

"Ow! You dick! I thought we were having a nice bonding moment for a change."

Julie just heard Will chuckle softly. "Moment's over. Get back to work."

"Not until I get you back for that." Julie said, getting her finger ready and trying to get close to his forehead— only to have him lower his seat away from her with a taunting look on his face.

"Don't think you can run from me!" Julie yelled as she lowered her own seat after him with a laugh.


	5. Chapter 5

CH#5: Broken Promises.

"I like astronomy too…but, holy shit." The young woman mumbled under her breath.

"Did you say something Julie?" Dr. Doppler asked innocently, hoping that the young woman was trying to engage him in conversation.

"Nope, just clearing my throat." She said, waving him off. "Please continue what you were saying, we're all on the edges of our seats." She stated, gesturing to the rest of the crew in the transport that was ferrying them down to the surface of Onyx; the planet that the Orion spaceport orbited. Most of the crew nearby— besides herself, the Captain, and Will— were slumped over in various positions while they slept.

"Oh, I apologize…" The doctor said with an awkward laugh, scratching the back of his neck. "I do tend to ramble a bit when I get onto certain topics."

"Oh nonsense doctor; I found your examination of the Orion nebula to be quite riveting." Captain Amelia said with a gracious tone while she shot a sharp glance at Julie— silently telling her to shut up. "Please, continue." She said moving closer to the doctor whose mood seemed to improve drastically as he went back to talking about the specifics of the nebula they could see out of the viewing port.

Julie thumped the back of her head against the cushion of the seat and stared at the ceiling, barely keeping in a groan. She glanced over to Will, who had sit down next to her and was now having trouble keeping his eyes open for more than a few seconds at a time. Julie smiled deviously and looked around to make sure no one was looking before planning her attack.

After waiting patiently for a few minutes more, the young man's eyes finally closed and didn't reopen. His breathing was slow and his face even seemed relaxed. Julie struggled not to let out an evil laugh as she leaned in and reached up towards his forehead, ready to pay him back for earlier. Index finger cocked back by her thumb; she inched forward slowly.

Just as she was about to execute her attack, she felt her hand slapped away and simultaneously saw him reach up towards her face with his other hand and flick her in the middle of her forehead.

"Ow! Shit." She said under her breath as she drew back, holding her forehead.

"Nice try." Will said, with a taunting smirk on his face.

"How did you even know what I was doing?" She said, glaring at him.

" _I_ am a light sleeper," He answered. "and _you_ are predictable."

"Yeah, just keep saying that. I'll get you back." Julie said, before she looked out the window and saw they were getting close to the dock on the surface. "But I'll save that for later; I have some stuff to do, planet-side." She finished more to herself.

—

As soon as the transport docked and let it's passengers out, the crew was released and told to report back to the ship in 24 hours; during that time supplies would be loaded and the small repairs that the ship needed would be finished and the _Legacy_ would be ready to set off once again. During that time, Arrow would be staying aboard and supervising the transfer of supplies and repairs.

Dr. Doppler stood and took in the sight of the city, immediately unfolding a large tourist map that he had bought in the space port and started rambling about going to see different tourist sites and what hotel was going to be best as well as the local foods that sounded the most delicious. It was a minute or two before he realized the young woman he had been talking to was no longer at his side.

His ears slightly drooped and his excitement to have some bonding time with the young woman he had know for so long, faded. Delbert thought back to the days when Juliet had been young. There had been more than a few nights when the small Hawkins family had come to his house and during those times Delbert and Juliet had spent hours looking at the celestial bodies through his telescope, along side her equally curious father. He had explained many things to the young girl that she had taken a rapid understanding to; grasping concepts in her youth that puzzled many adults. She had always taken a special interest in the celestial body that was her namesake.

Delbert had thought she might be one of the next great astrophysicists that would change the galaxy in the future, but alas— fate felt the need to intervene.

The man he viewed as one of his closest friends— a man who had unwaveringly devoted himself to his wife and child— turned his back on them and walked away. At least that was what Delbert had been told. While she didn't say it outright, Sarah seemingly held onto hope that he would return— for reasons they she had never told him. But, the young girl that was once so bright, joyful, and curious— receded from the world when she lost hope. She became detached and distant from everyone that tried to get close.

As the years went on, Delbert's large house that had always seemed so warm— filled with smiling faces, laughter, and happiness gradually grew quiet. Sarah was busy with the Inn. Juliet was off, getting into trouble. His mother had passed away quietly on a rainy afternoon in the spring; making the journey across the Styx to be with his father once again. He had no siblings and the only relatives that tried to get close to him were ones that were interested in the inheritance that he had received. Thus, Delbert immersed himself into research to avoid the happy memories that would never again be more than just memories.

All he had left were the stars. But no matter how magnificent, grand, and awe-inspiring they were— they remained cold and distant. They would never speak back to him or give him warmth, no matter how much he sought to understand them. They would never know his name, nor remember him when he was gone.

'Maybe it's better this way…'

He jumped a bit when he heard a feminine voice next to him, snapping him out of his spiraling thoughts.

"Dr. Doppler," Captain Amelia started as he turned around. "I would be delighted to see those sights you were just speaking of. You may prefer Miss Hawkins over myself but I would still argue that I make for wonderful company."

Delbert was slightly surprised as he pushed his glassed back up his nose. "I would love to have you along, Captain." He said, before taking a chance and adding as they started walking; "And, just Delbert is fine."

"Oh?" The Captain responded with an small smile. "Then you should call me Amelia."

As they walked down the street together he couldn't help but feel a little bit lighter. Amelia had unfolded the map and was already marking out a few key destinations when they reached a street corner and waited to cross. She looked up at him after noticing his gaze lingering on her instead of the map. Her smile returned, brighter than before. The walking light turned green and she looped her arm through his and pulled him along.

'I think this way is much better.' He thought to himself with a smile.

—

"Now this is what I'm talking about." Julie said to herself as she made her way through the busy streets. "Now, time to acquire some funds."

Over the course of the next hour she pick pocketed a bevy of well dressed persons that happened to cross her path. Citizens of every color, race, and species; all with one thing in common— money. It was a business day in one of the busiest trading outposts in the galaxy and there was money to be made. They were well dressed, with fat wallets. People were delightfully unguarded despite the large amount of people in close proximity on the streets, buses, monorail cars, street corners, etc.

This place was like a pickpocket's paradise; and Julie was one such petty thief— raised on a planet that was absent of the large crowds and busy streets. She had developed her handiwork on sparsely populated locations, with people who would immediately start checking their pockets as soon as they caught sight of her. In other words, pick pocketing the citizens of Onyx was like child's play; she could probably do it blind and deaf and still get away scot-free.

Still, she was careful. There were a few close calls but, she still managed to slip away without a care. Perhaps the reason people felt so safe here was because of the constant police presence. Officers were easily visible either on foot or in vehicles on patrol along the busy streets. Most even seemed sort of friendly, which Julie was slightly unused to, being that on her home planet the law enforcement were bought and paid for.

These police officers had a different feel to them, but the young woman still kept her distance. For a short time, while exploring the city she had wandered closer to the military base. Military officers in starched and pressed uniforms slowly filtered into the crowd, going to and from whatever business they had with generally stoic expressions. Sort of reminded her of something but, she didn't dwell on it for long. One significant change that she had noticed the closer she got to the military affiliated sections of the city were the change in law enforcement.

Gone were the smiling and amicable civilian police officers. They were replaced by stone-faced Military Police; adorned with full body armor and rifles and weapons Julie had never seen before. Even the general public gave them a wide birth in the street as they patrolled in teams. Julie had ventured further into the military district until she saw a checkpoint where she saw people being patted down and searched. Regardless of how curious she was of what lay beyond the barrier, she turned on her heel and put a significant amount of distance between her and the military district. She wasn't about to submit to a search, just for them to find the half full sack of stolen items and wallets that was hidden under her jacket.

After a good amount of time exploring and acquiring funds, she decided that one last take would be good enough. She set herself up, walking behind another mark. He was an older human male, dressed like a typical pompous douche; tux, expensive overcoat, fancy cane, top hat, an overly manicured mustache with ends that curled so much that if he covered one side he would look like a pig's ass, fancy shoes, and a diamond studded watch. He walked with his nose so far in the air she could only wonder how he didn't trip over anything. He also had some kind of small badge on his lapel that had the Terran Empirical crest on it— indicating he was a noble.

The young woman couldn't help but smile; she loathed nobility even more than the run of the mill rich asshole. The fact that people thought they were better than someone else from the moment they were born because of their last name and their family's pedigree, irked her to no end. They always stood in stark contrast to everything she was and believed. With that much ego and superiority complex stuffed into those plump and pudgy little bodies, Julie was eternally wondering how they each didn't collapse into a singularity.

'Guy is practically asking for it.' Julie thought to herself as they both stopped on a crowed corner with gaggle of people waiting to cross the street. Making sure no one was paying attention to her, she discreetly slipped her hand into his pocket and fished out a fancy looking wallet that felt pretty full.

'Sweet!' she thought while she pulled it slowly out of his pocket but, not before the man turned to look both ways on the street and caused the edge of the wallet to tug slightly on his pocket, due to his movement, before she got it out.

Julie looked up and locked eyes with the man while she had his wallet in plain sight in her hand.

"Fuck." She said aloud before bolting through the crowd and into the busy street. She heard him yelling behind her on the sidewalk telling someone to grab her before she got away. It wasn't long before people on both sides of the street caught on and were looking to wrangle the pickpocket, thus stranding her in the street with vehicles zipping by. She was already seeing a few cops on the other side who had been nearby on a foot patrol.

She looked around quickly and smirked when she saw her way out. Julie ran towards the other side of the street dodging hover-cars and solar-bikes making the people and police waiting there think she was coming to them. But, at the last moment a large truck sped by and Julie jumped and grabbed onto the back; only turning to look back and flip off the noble and police officers who were left watching her and the truck she was hanging onto, disappear into traffic.

The young thief slipped the fat wallet into the makeshift satchel on her back that was hidden underneath her large jacket. She closed her eyes as she felt the wind blow through her hair and her heartbeat slow once again. "I think I'm starting to like this place." She laughed as the truck slowed to a stop at a light, giving her the opportunity to hop off— still unnoticed by the driver.

She waltzed into a nearby alleyway and rifled through all of the things she had stolen; taking the money and dumping the rest of the stuff, she counted out just over 1,000 credits. "Damn, I made this in a fucking hour?!" She said excitedly to herself, before shoving the money into her pocket and making her way back out onto the street. "Well, guess it's time to spend it." She said with a smile as she figured out the fastest way to get to the fun part of town.

—

"19 hours left and I haaaave…6 packs of cigarettes, 3 bottles of liquor, and a few joints." Julie said to herself before closing up her makeshift satchel and securing it on her back and under her jacket. "And still got 500 credits of _pocket_ money left. Damn it's been a good day."

She had found her way to the 'less than optimal' side of town rather easily. After that it was just a process of hunting down what she wanted or some people who would be willing to walk into a store and buy it for her. Normal 'upstanding' citizens of this planet would have probably scoffed at her but in this part of town it seemed most people would be friendly if you were paying them. Hell, the last guy even threw in some weed in pre-wrapped joints for another 20 after she paid him to get some tequila for her.

Some people hadn't been so friendly, opting to simply run off with the money she gave them to buy something but she expected at least a few of those so she didn't lose more than 100 credits to people like that in her process. She wished she was 18 already or had a good fake ID on her to be able to purchase the items herself, but she played with the hand she was dealt.

Her stomach grumbled, reminding her she had forgotten lunch. "Alright, lunch next and then I can find a hotel and smoke some of that we— er Hey Will!" She yelped in surprise when she turned a corner to find the cabin boy waiting for her. Julie wasn't really sure what he would think of her trying to sneak alcohol, cigarettes, and weed onto the ship— nor was she keen on sharing the small amount she had. So, her stomach sank slightly when she saw the look he was giving her that said he knew what she was up to.

"Having fun?" He asked.

"Yeah, real fun time here in the city. Never seen this many people in one place before." Julie said, slowly backing away— trying to find an escape route. "Funny running into you here. Look I should get going; lot's of, uh…tourist spots to see, you know?" She said turning and trying to walk away before she felt herself getting pulled into an alley by the back of her collar.

She felt Will's hand reach into the back of her jacket to her hidden satchel and she kicked and smacked at him until he let her go, but not before he snatched a few items.

"Hey! Give those back!" She said but he held her at arms length while he looked over the bottle of tequila and weed that he had grabbed.

"Got a quite a few souvenirs in your backpack, huh?" He asked.

"Yeah and they are mine, you asshole, now give them back!" She yelled at him.

He lifted up the items in each of his hands and examined them. "Seems a little strong for you but, whatever." he said examining the bottle in his hand before switching hands and lifting the bag of weed with the other. "This, however, is going into the trash." He said with finality.

"Hey come on Will, if you are gonna let me keep the alcohol then why not the weed?" She pleaded.

"Because this shit is laced with something, dumbass." He said, tossing the bag in a nearby dumpster. "Never buy pre-wrapped joints, this planet's drug dealers have a habit of dabbing the part where you put your lips in LSD. A lot of times they mix in heroin to addict new clientele."

"Hey, I paid for that!" She said thinking about jumping in after it before the smell of rotting garbage repulsed her enough to give up on it.

"With money that didn't belong to you in the first place, ain't that right, sticky fingers?" He stated more than asked with a slight smirk on his face.

"How did you even…" She started before she realized the obvious. "Have you been fucking following me?!"

"Someone has to make sure you don't get yourself into trouble." Will said before he handed the bottle back to Julie. "Careful with that stuff, it's strong."

Julie was pissed and to indulge her inner sassy bitch she ripped off the top of the tequila bottle and threw it at Will while she took a long draw from it. "Sorry didn't quite catch that." She said sarcastically— up-ending the bottle once again when he started to speak. She flipped him off while she did it for good measure.

"I can take care of myself, so stop stalking me." She said, walking away from him down the alley; taking another swig of the tequila and feeling the burn in her throat and the warmth stirring in her stomach. Within a few minutes her face started to feel warm and her limbs felt a bit noodle-like.

'Fuck. This stuff is strong; maybe it wasn't such a good idea to drink this much on an empty stomach…after like 3 months of not drinking anything…' She thought to herself slipping further into inebriation with another long draw. She could already feel a fire in her belly that made her warm despite the weather getting a bit colder.

"Yeah, sure you can take care of yourself, look at you now— you're the picture of responsibility." She heard behind. Julie whipped around, anger flaring.

"Yeah, look at me! Without you I would be drunk _and_ high, and probably in a hotel room by now." Julie spat at him, swinging the bottle around causing people walking nearby to look at her funny. She was now too drunk and angry at the stupid cabin boy that was trying to act superior to her. She would have preferred his normal stoic attitude if all he was gonna do was become a mother-hen.

"Within 15 minutes of smoking that shit you would have been high as a fucking kite." Will spat back, feeling slightly annoyed to have to babysit a drunk and angry female. Will felt a drop of rain hit his cheek and realized it was going to rain sooner than was forecasted. "Just get inside before you get too drunk and end up in the gutter for the night."

Just to spite him Julie flipped him off again while taking a few more gulps of her drink before she responded. "Maybe thats where I want to be fuck-face. Maybe thats where I _**Fucking**_ _**Belong!**_ " She screamed drunkenly.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Will said, more than a little confused. The occasional rain drops were slowly picking up while Julie tried to formulate a response.

"I…just—ugh…" Julie didn't really have a good answer. Nor was it something that she really wanted to dwell on so she just turned away and started wobbling down the street away from Will— yelling at him over her shoulder. "It means, Fuck You. So stop pretending to give a shit about me and shove off. I am fine on my own."

The young and drunk pickpocket continued to walk/wobble for a couple blocks until the rain started to pick up even more. "I have to find a place to crash for the night." Julie said aloud to the nearly empty street. Her clothes were already soaked but, she wasn't too worried because she didn't really have anything that would be ruined by the rain. But, it was getting closer to night and the temperature was dropping.

She continued to walk until she saw a guy around her age, smoking a cigarette and standing next to an alleyway as if he was waiting for someone.

Her gut told her it was a bad idea but no one else was around and she was already soaked and cold. So, she jogged across the street and tried to swallow her drunkenness as much as possible before she came close to him and started talking.

"Hey, buddy, you know where the nearest hotel is?" She asked, internally commanding her legs to operate normally as she walked and tried not to wobble like a top. "Or at least a place to eat— I am not really from around here so I'm a little turned around." She added with a laugh; quickly hiding the half empty bottle of alcohol behind her back.

The young man looked her up and down and took another drag on his cigarette before he responded with a smile that showed to many teeth. "Yeah, no problem little lady. I know a place nearby." He said throwing his arm around her shoulders and walking her into the alleyway.

Even in her drunken state her gut was screaming at her to get the fuck away from this place and this guy. She slowed down and detached his arm from around her shoulders and started backing back towards the street. "I, uh, think I am good, actually. I just remembered the way to a place I know better so I am gonna go there. Thanks though." Just as she was almost back onto the street she felt him roughly grab her arm to stop her.

"No, no come on; trust me this place is way better." He said, still with a smile that made her uncomfortable. Julie finally snapped and threw a punch that connected with his face, causing him to stumble a bit in the mud of the alleyway and let go of her.

"I'm ain't goin' anywhere with you, so fuck off." Julie said, turning back towards the street; only to find that her way was blocked by another two guys, each with a creepy smile on his face.

'Fuck.' She thought to herself, before she felt a foot contact between her shoulder blades— send her sprawling, face first, into the mud. She vaguely noted that she lost hold of the tequila somewhere on the ground. She quickly rolled over to face her attacker and started to get up, but was met with a swift kick directly to her stomach; making her flop back into the mud. The young woman gripped her bruised stomach, puking up the tequila she had thought would be a great idea on an empty stomach.

"You are quite the rude one aren't you?" The original guy said, sending another kick into her stomach before crouching down and lifting her head out of the mud by her hair to make her look at him. "You came to me to ask for help and then you think you can just change your mind and run off after wasting _my_ time?"

He leaned in closer. "That's not how things work around here, darlin." He said in a low voice before Julie spit in his face and connected another punch. She felt a satisfying crunch from his nose and he grunted in pain before falling back a few steps.

Before she could capitalize on her successful strike she felt a stomp come down on her ribcage, causing her to cry out as pain lanced through her side. Julie pushed the guy's boot off and grabbed her side to protect it from further damage. Unfortunately this left her stomach open again and the original guy delivered another hard kick right into her stomach.

Julie grunted in pain and vomited once again as he stood above her laughing. She felt the glass from at least one broken bottle digging into the side the other guy had stomped on; The alcohol made it burn like hell. "You have one hell of a punch there darlin'; I think you may have broken my nose!" He grabbed her by the hair again and slammed her face into the mud a few times for good measure.

"I like a little bit of fire in a woman." He whispered darkly before another voice sounded through the alleyway, originating back from the direction Julie and the original guy had come.

"You can take care of yourself, huh?" Will said, sarcastically. "Yeah, I can see that."

"Oh ho! Is that your boyfriend?!" The original guy said, his smile widening as he spoke to Will. "Sorry, buddy but it looks like your girlfriend is gonna be hanging out with us for a little while!"

Will just let out a tired sigh and retrieved something from his boot as he made his way towards the trio. "You guys should start running now if you don't want to die." He said without any emotion in his voice.

"OHHHH! He is gonna try to save you!" The original guy said, pushing Julie over so that she was on her injured side and looking in Will's direction— holding her head up by her hair so that she could look at him through the mud covering her face. "Butch, Vic. Give our _hero_ a warm welcome, but don't kill him yet—" He said to the other guys before leaning in and whispering uncomfortably close to Julie's ear. "I want him to watch while I _Fuck_ _You_."

Julie felt a cold and wet hand grab her ass and she jolted and immediately tried to scramble out of his grasp. Her face was pushed roughly into the mud once again and she felt his knee shift to sit on top of her, pinning her to the ground. She felt him start to pull down her pants and underwear while she struggled and started screaming and kicked him off only to have him put even more weight on top of her.

She vaguely heard one wet thump followed shortly by another, hitting the muddy ground somewhere in the direction of the street. " _ **WILL!**_ " She screamed in desperation, her vision obscured by mud and rain. Her pants and underwear were pulled down to her knees and she felt a cold and slimy hand touch her bare thighs and she increased her frantic struggle as she felt it start to travel slowly upwards.

' **PLEASE NO, PLEASE DON'T DO THIS PLEASE DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN!** ' She cried out internally, praying to the God she had given up on when she was seven. She screamed out for help again, struggling against the weight on her back to just get away from the hand slowly slipping up her legs.

"Who knew that you had such a fine body underneath these baggy clothes." The criminal said, his hand touching her while he spoke. "I think your boyfriend will enjoy watching me and my friends take tur—" His words suddenly cut off with a surprised grunt.

Julie felt the weight that had been pinning her down, along with hands touching her and the voice taunting her, disappear. She scrambled away as soon as she realized she was free and quickly wiped the mud out of her eyes, pulling her pants and underwear up enough to cover herself.

Once she was covered and could see almost clearly she looked around the rainy and muddy alleyway; seeing the guy the first one had called "Butch" laying on his back, completely still with something protruding from his eye that looked like a handle or hilt of a knife. The other guy who had been called 'Red' was face down and just as still as the other guy. A scream rang out in the alleyway once again, this time from the would-be rapist.

Julie looked back and saw Will sitting on top of the one who had dragged her into the alley, pushing his thumbs slowly into his eye sockets while he screamed in pain and his arms flung at Will desperately. William's face was contracted in white-hot rage and he was bearing his teeth like a wild animal while the other man's frantic blows bounced off him, making it seem like his tensing muscles were made of steel.

Julie had been in her share of fights and seen her share of down and dirty brawls and witnessed enough solar surfer accidents to be well equated with blood and violence but, she had never seen someone actually kill another person— especially not like this. All the young woman could do was watch as the person whose calm presence had become so constant and steady in her day to day life, viciously snuffed out another man's life. She flinched slightly as Will used his hold on the screaming man's head to bash his skull against the ground again and again— grunting with effort each time— until the only noise that filled the alleyway was rainfall and the breathing of the only two people left alive in it.

William slowly removed his thumbs from the now silent man's eye sockets with a wet popping sound that Julie wouldn't soon forget. Will slowly stood above the young man, lifting his foot slowly before stomping down on the neck of the limp man— sending a sickening crunch into Julie's ears, making her flinch violently.

"Jesus _Fucking_ Christ…" She whispered under her breath, causing Will to whip his head around in her direction. The young woman flinched again and scrambled back through the mud on her ass until her back hit a wall and she couldn't go any farther. Her eyes were wide. She shook like a leaf in a hurricane while she watched William walk over to "Butch" whose body hadn't moved since it hit the ground earlier and pull the knife that was embedded in his eye; cleaning it off and sliding it back into his boot.

When Will turned towards her and started walking steadily towards her she tried to scramble back again but found a solid brick wall, stopping any progress. Fear and adrenaline were coursing through her veins making her want to run but she had no where to go. He slowed to a stop and took a knee in the mud within arms reach and looked at her with a steady gaze from his blue green eyes.

No more of the anger, killing intent, or un bridled rage that he had just embodied was in his eyes. He looked at her, calm and steady just as he always was. "Julie, are you ok?" He asked softly.

Julie nodded silently in response after a moment of wondering if this was the same person that had just killed three people in front of her. William let a small smile cross his face; he stood and offered her a hand. "Come on then. Let's get out of here."

She look up at him and nodded weakly in return before taking his hand and standing, shakily. She winced in pain and reached under her jacket to expose the small glass shards that were embedded into her side.

"That doesn't look too comfortable…What about your legs?" He asked softly. "Do you think you can walk?"

Julie thought for a minute and realized that she was shaking so hard and felt so weak that just standing was almost too much for her. She shook her head honestly in response looking down at her boots feeling ashamed at her own weakness.

"Can I carry you?" He asked, to which she glanced from her rain, mud, and vomit covered clothes then back up to him. He just let out a small laugh and rolled his eyes before sweeping her into his arms, careful not to touch her wounded side.

"Don't worry about that." He said. "Just relax, you're safe now, Julie."

She nodded, silently wrapping her arms around his neck and looking at the bodies laying lifelessly in the mud before the cabin boy turned his body so that she couldn't see them.

"Julie." He said, getting her attention, making her look up at him while he looked down at her. "You are safe. I've got you."

She felt her shaking intensify gradually and a familiar burning at the corners of her eyes. She felt the dam crack.

Julie silently slid her arms around his neck and leaned against him.

"They aren't going to hurt you anymore." He said again, gently squeezing her. "You're safe, Julie."

All the emotion that had been swirling and raging and building inside of her finally pushed it's way out; tears poured down her muddy and bruised face as quiet sobs racked her body. She silently fell apart in William's arms as the reality of the events in the alleyway finally crashed over her.

She didn't know how long she let the rain mingle with her tears, but she eventually drifted to sleep, thinking vaguely how warm it felt with his arms around her.


	6. Chapter 6

Ch#6: I'm Here

" _I want him to watch while I Fuck You."_

Julie's eyes snapped open and she bolted upright in a cold sweat. She looked around and found that she was in a hotel room, on a bed— alone. The events of the day flooded back over her and she couldn't get the feeling of the would-be rapist's cold and slimy hands out of her head. She looked down and saw that she had no jacket or boots on and she was still a bit damp with slightly dried mud and some vomit on the front of her shirt.

She heard the sound of running water from the bathroom that had a light on and the door cracked open. Getting up, she had to be slow because she was still shaky and felt a little nauseous.

When she moved she winced and reached up towards her side in response to pain lancing across her ribs again before she wobbled her way over to the bathroom. Once she got close enough to the door she heard Will quietly letting out a curse every few seconds.

Curiosity and the desire to not be alone anymore pushed her to reach up and knock on the door.

"W-will?" She called out hesitantly.

There was silence for a moment before she heard shuffling and the door swung inward to relieve William clad only in a towel that was wrapped around his waist; holding a curved needle that was attached to a string that lead upwards and disappeared behind his back.

"Hey Julie, how are you feeling?" He asked quietly.

The young woman couldn't really help but look over the muscular and tattoo covered torso of the cabin boy before she met his gaze and responded.

"I'll be fine…I just didn't want to be a—…never mind. What are you doing in here?" She said, changing topics when she felt too embarrassed by what she was about to say.

Will looked at her for a moment before stepping back to the mirror and sink, leaving the door open for her to follow him in and look around the small bathroom. Her boots and jacket were hanging along with his clothes to dry after they had been scrubbed clean. Julie also noticed an open spot in his shirt that didn't look like it belonged there— like someone have slashed it with a blade.

Julie looked back and saw William using the mirror to stitch a rather long laceration along his upper back and shoulder. "Holy shit, Will; You didn't tell me you got cut!" She said, moving over to him to look more closely.

"It's not that bad, don't worry about it." Will said, awkwardly stretching his arm to try and get the next stitch in. "Just a little hard to reach."

Julie rolled her eyes and started washing her hands after rolling up her sleeves. "You're never gonna reach that, let me help." She said firmly. Will looked at her for a few seconds and looked at her hands and saw that they were steady once again before he handed the suturing needle over to her.

"Let me know if you need me to walk you through it." He said.

"I think I get it from the part you already did." She said pointing to the first half of the laceration he had been able to reach and close. "But, don't you need like— anesthesia for this or something?" A bit guilty every time he let out a small curse when she poked him with the suture.

"Nah, it's… _shit_ …fine." He said, pausing every time she did something with the sharp object— to curse quietly.

" _Fuck_ …I don't really have the funds or means to purchase stuff like that… _asshole_ …at the moment. Plus, this stuff works wonders." He held up the only remaining bottle of liquor she had bought earlier in the day with a slightly buzzed smile.

Normally, Julie might have been angry at someone stealing her booze but at the moment she couldn't find it in herself to be anything but grateful to the man she now owed her life too. It wasn't long before she finished and, under his direction, tied it off neatly. She wiped away the blood and put a clean bandage over it with a smile— happy to finally feel useful again in some way.

"Thanks." He said handing her the bottle. "Now it's your turn."

She was about to protest when pain spiked in her side again when she grabbed the bottle. "Alright, alright." She said as she turned away and set the bottle off to the side. She started to slip her shirt above her head before she winced in pain without being able to pull it above her head. Julie looked back at Will only to find him facing the other way.

"Can you, um…help me?" She asked in a small voice with her cheeks burning red. William laughed at her strangely out of character shyness and turned around to oblige her. Once her shirt was off they realized that her bra would have to come off as well. She looked up at him and her faced burned even hotter as she asked for him to hand her a towel to cover her chest.

"And…close your eyes." She said, making him bite back a smirk but do as she said to make her comfortable. Julie slowly guided his hands and he carefully pulled her sports bra over her head and waited until she said he could open his eyes again. Once she had the towel covering her chest and told him it was ok to open his eyes; he immediately spotted a small edge of a colorful tattoo on her right shoulder blade but couldn't make out the rest.

"Alright, I'm gonna start working on getting the glass out, then I am gonna stitch you up if you need any suturing." He said, moving over to her left side. Will spotted another tattoo a few inches below the wound on her left side that was made up of a series of lines of varying lengths, all originating from a single point. It was vaguely familiar but he couldn't quite remember what it meant.

"Nice tattoos." He said, distracting her while he plucked out the glass with a pair of tweezers. She winced in pain every time he pulled one out but responded between pieces.

"Thanks…the one on my back is a sparrow… _ow_!" She explained. "And the one on my side is Sagan and Drake's pulsar map, from the _Voyager_." Will stopped for a second, looking up at her.

"That is oddly specific. Wasn't that from like, thousands of years ago— why did you get that tattooed onto your side?" He said, putting down the tweezers and wetting the tip of a towel with some alcohol before dabbing it lightly against the cuts. Julie yelped out in pain at the sting of the alcohol.

"Hey! Give me some warning before you start doing that, jackass!" She growled at him, before feeling immediately guilty, then added more quietly, "…uh, please."

Will couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry, sorry; I didn't mean to surprise you." He defended, putting down the towel and putting on a waterproof bandage. "Good news is you aren't gonna need any stitches. Do you feel any pain when you breath?"

Julie took in a deep breath to test it and almost immediately winced in pain again and nodded. "Ok, I am gonna assess your ribs but it will hurt a bit. Is that alright?"

She looked at him and still saw the familiar calm and steady look in his eyes; she nodded and watched as he reached around her with one hand and gripped her shoulder to keep her from moving away. He laid his other hand on her ribs on her injured side and pushed slowly inward, with his palm, increasing the pressure on her ribs. She grit her teeth in pain before he pulled away the pressure and then applied it a few more times around the bruised section of her left side. The bruising was light and she hadn't thought it would be anything bad compared to the larger and painful bruising on her stomach.

When he pulled his hands away she had a sheen of sweat on her skin. She hadn't realized she had reached down and was squeezing his leg with white-knuckled intensity. When she did notice she quickly pulled her hand away. "Sorry…" she mumbled.

"It's fine." He said with a small dismissive wave while he lifted the towel slightly and assessed her stomach. "So as far as I could feel you definitely have bruised ribs on the left side but nothing felt broken so, it will probably heal fine within a couple of weeks. Just take it easy for now and try to avoid laughing, coughing, or sneezing— or any other abrupt motions. As far as the bruising on your stomach, just be careful and it should heal on it's own like the rest. I will check on it again in a week or so but, you don't seem to be bleeding internally based on your behavior and your vitals."

"You seem pretty knowledgable on this medical stuff." Julie pointed out while he put away his medical supplies into a small pouch that went into his backpack, which he had brought with him from the ship.

"Yeah, I guess so." He explained. "I had some in-depth medical training and some experience to back it up, so something like this isn't really too hard."

"Of course you do." Julie said rolling her eyes.

"What?" William asked.

"Just accepting the fact you seem to be an expert in everything." She said, sitting on the edge of the sink— still holding the towel over her chest, leaving the skin on her sides and back exposed. "I have been trying to figure out what you did before you started sailing with Silver— since you don't seem to want to tell me about it and my curiosity is slowly killing me."

"Oh really?" He responded, his eyes darting to her exposed skin unconsciously. "And what have you deduced, Miss Detective?"

"Well, from what I have witnessed…" She started as she stepped away from the sink and circled around him; pretending to examine him like she was looking for evidence and pausing for dramatic effect. "You must have been…a doctor-soldier-sailor-professional-fighter-cocktail-waitress-tattoo-artist! It's the only logical explanation!"

William threw his head back in laughter and running his hand down his face then through his wet hair. He took her previous spot, leaning against the sink before he finally responded. "Well, that is quite an astute deduction. You were right on at least two of those."

"Seriously?!" Julie asked, blown away that she had actually gotten any of them right. "Which ones? Cocktail waitress?"

He laughed again, fixing her with a smile and a warm gaze from blue green eyes; Julie felt something flutter to life in her stomach. "I'll give you three guesses; if you guess right then I will tell you." He said. "But, that counts as one of your guesses. And no I was never a cocktail waitress— the dress was too small."

Julie chuckled a bit, wincing in pain slightly before looking over him and thinking. "Was tattoo artist one of them?"

She was reward with a slow nod from him. "Yes, although never really professionally— I have given quite a few tattoos. I even worked my own once or twice."

"Sweet!" She said bouncing slightly in triumph. "That is pretty amazing, maybe I'll be getting my next tattoo from you."

"Yeah, maybe." He said, crossing his arms. "Alright, one more guess to get the other one."

Julie thought over everything she knew about him. 'He is almost always calm and collected— even in the most annoying or intense situations. He is muscular and covered with scars and tattoos. He had at least some experience with medical stuff. He is a very good fighter and didn't even hesitate with those guys in the alleyway.' She thought; slowly isolating key features of his behavior to narrow it down. She looked over at him and her eyes caught on the reflection of his back in the mirror that hung on the wall behind him.

"Soldier." She said simply, seeing his smile slightly waver and he raised an eyebrow as if to ask why she thought that.

"There are a bunch of reasons, but…" She stepped closer to him without taking her eyes off his. "Why else would you have the Terran empire's crest tattooed on your back?"

He hesitated for a moment, looking over his shoulder and seeing the the symbol of the Empire he had fought for imprinted into the skin of his upper back. An eagle with wings spread, set in front of a laurel wreath that had nine stars along the wreath and a tenth— sitting in a break in the wreath above the eagle's head. A sword was grasped in the eagle's talons with the words: _**Senatus Populusque**_ written on the blade.

He looked back at her and nodded a bit more solemnly than before. "Good guess. I was a soldier for a number of years; I was trained as a field-medic while I was in as well. So, that is where my medical knowledge and experience originate from."

"A number of years?" She asked curiously. "Aren't you a little young to have served for years? or are you a lot older than you look?"

"No, I'm about 19." He said. "But, I joined when I was…a bit younger." It was a bit vague but it wasn't an outright lie. Although William couldn't really figure out why it mattered to him if he lied to her or not, but it did so he just kept it vague but true.

"But the enlistment age is 18, how is that possible?" She was confused; mostly because she barely knew anything about the army as apposed to the navy— in which, she had always taken more interest. "It's illegal to have anyone younger in a battlefield. They wouldn't send out children into a harms way."

The warmth in the young man's eyes faded slightly and his eyes changed like he was looking at a far away object as he answered her. "We were at war for nearly 70 years, Julie. When both sides have been going at it for that long, things can get pretty… _desperate_."

"What do you mean?" Julie asked, taking another step closer to him, putting her hand on his arm to try to draw him back from whatever dark place his mind had wandered.

"When a soldier falls in battle there needs to be a someone to replace him or her, and after that many years of fighting across hundreds of different systems they were running out of people and options. So the age requirement went out of the window, I guess you could say. It wasn't long before they were taking all the way down to 15 year olds. Unofficially of course."

"How could they do something like that?" She asked softly, a painful feeling in her chest— imagining 15 year old Will on a battlefield filled with death and destruction. William met her gaze with a hard light in his eyes.

"When it comes to war, whether it is the government or the individual soldiers, you do whatever it takes to win— whatever it takes to survive. No matter how immoral or wrong it may seem." He said firmly, before softening slightly. "That's kinda why I didn't give you a hard time after you risked your life to help that lookout in the solar storm. Someone willing to put their own life on the line for someone else is exceptionally rare. Everyone else was either too far away or refused to risk their own ass to help— everyone except you."

It took another minute before Julie realized he was complementing her— again. She was dumbfounded as to why he was even willing to tell her any of this in such a sincere way, but she lost track of her thinking when she discovered how close they had drifted to each other.

Her hand had slid up his arm, onto his shoulder and then down to his chest to trace across the words tattooed over his heart.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." She whispered, reading the words written on his heart. He smiled warmly at her. His hands were lightly holding her waist; she felt the warmth radiating from his callused fingers. She looked down, seeing and feeling his thumbs teasing under the edges of the towel that lay over her stomach loosely as she held the top to cover her chest.

"W-will…?" She stuttered, her stomach fluttering furiously and her face heating up as she look back up at his eyes feeling slightly intoxicating rush of excitement. When he heard her say his name he looked down at his hands, that seemed to have developed a mind of their own, and he suddenly pulled them away and stood up.

"Sorry!" He said, feeling his own face heat up as he tried to think of anyway to explain himself and coming up empty. "I…uh, you haven't eaten since this morning right?" He said finally. "I will get us some food while you shower and wash your clothes."

He moved around Julie, giving her a wide berth, and out of the bathroom door before a familiar cold and slimy feeling entered her mind and fear pushed to the forefront of her mind. She turned around quickly and followed after him, grabbing his arm.

"Wait! don't leave!" She pleaded quietly.

She hated to admit it to herself but she didn't feel safe without his calm and steady presence; the events of the alleyway were too recent and raw in her mind. Julie cursed under her breath as she looked down at her feet and realized she was shaking again. She hated feeling this weak but, she couldn't help it.

"Will, please don't leave me here… _alone_ …" She said, just barely loud enough for him to hear. "It's like I can still hear him whispering in my ear…I can't forget the feeling of his hand… _touching_ me." The young woman cursed at her own weakness as she stood there shaking and holding onto the only person who made her feel safe.

"I'm so _fucking_ weak…I can't even—" Her word caught in her throat and she feel tears burning at the corners of her eyes again. Shame, welled up inside of her adding to the swirling mixture of emotions.

'So much for that promise about not crying…' Julie thought limply to herself. She felt so pathetic, she felt weak, she felt _dirty_.

That was, until she felt William's arms around her again.

"You aren't weak, Julie."

His warmth burned away everything else and made her feel safe again. "I'm not going anywhere." His calm and steady presence seeped into her as she heard him speak softly to her.

"Thanks." She said quietly leaning into his chest.

"I was only gonna order some room service, though…" He said, causing her to look up at him— confused.

"You didn't think I was gonna go run around with just a towel wrapped around my waist did you?" His voice slight amused as he look down at her. Julie felt her face heat up in embarrassment and she lightly thudded her head against his chest.

"…no…" She lied.

"Then are you saying you want me to come in the shower with—"

"Ye— er, No!" Julie yelped, looking up at him. "T-that's not what I meant. I just…" She couldn't think of a way to recover so she withdrew quickly from his embrace and retreated back towards the bathroom. Pushing the door almost closed before peeking her head out, only successful in maintaining eye contact with him for a few seconds at a time.

"I am gonna take a shower, is this bandage gonna hold up?" She asked trying to seem semi-normal.

"Yeah, it is waterproof— just don't let it soak or sit under the stream for a long amount of time."

"Ok." Julie said before disappearing back into the bathroom but leaving the bathroom door cracked open. William heard clothes rustling and the shower turn on soon after. He sat down on the bed and put his face in his hands— feeling the heat radiate off of his cheeks.

'She was just flustered.' He told himself internally. 'She didn't mean anything by it. Hell, she might even still be drunk.' He knew that the last thing probably wasn't true based on how much she had thrown up in the alleyway but, he gave her the benefit of the doubt for now to excuse anything she said as her not being too serious.

Once he had calmed down again he leaned over to the bed stand and picked up the phone to call for room service.

—

Julie held up her newly clean pair of panties and groaned quietly. They were stretched and slightly torn from that fuck-head in the alleyway. She hung them up anyway along with the rest of her clothes and wrapped the towel she had around herself. She looked at herself in the mirror to check. It was a bit small but it managed to cover what needed covering. She was silently thankful for the hotel having disposable razors— if she had to walk around with just a towel on then she preferred everything be smooth. That was, perhaps, the one 'girly' habit she had made for herself— mostly because she liked he feeling of not having body hair.

She cracked open the bathroom window to let air flow in and dry their clothes. Julie was surprised to find that it was already night time.

'Guess I am gonna be sleeping here…' She thought to herself; again feeling her stomach flopping around when she thought about who she would be sharing a room with. 'What the hell is wrong with me, just act like normal and he will too!'

With that thought, and a few deep breathes, she stepped back out into the room and saw William standing at the door grabbing a few plates from a waiter that look rather bored— until he saw Julie standing in just a towel coming closer to see what Will had ordered.

"Good evening ma'am." He said, tipping his hat slightly. His eyes slipping away from her face towards her smooth and shapely legs. This immediately made her look around for something more to cover herself with. Julie settled with stepping behind William's body. "Evening, thanks for the food." She said from behind Will.

"Oi!" Will bark at the man, who stopped trying to crane his neck to see the young woman again and whipped his eyes back to the muscular and pissed looking male— most likely the attractive woman's boyfriend/companion. "Where do you think you are looking?!"

"Nowhere sir, I was just saying hello." The young waiter said, holding his hands up and backing away as William came closer.

"You delivered the food." Will growled threateningly. "Now keep your eyes on the floor and get the fuck out."

"Yes, sir!" Yelped the waiter as he scrambled out the door and shut it behind him. Will walked over quickly and locked it, wedging a chair under the handle for good measure.

"You didn't need to scare him that bad, Will." Julie said, pulling her half-wet hair over one shoulder and smiling— silently grateful for his newly protective attitude. It had been a while since she felt this comfortable and safe with another person.

"It's better if he's scared." Will said, looking away from her quickly and back to the food.

"Sureeee." Julie said sarcastically. "So what did you order?"

"Fettuccine Alfredo with chicken, Caesar Salad, Bohemian Caviar, Reaver steak, Hamburger, and some juice or water to drink." He said pointing to the spread. "Pretty nice stuff too. Or at least should be based on the cost."

Julie's mouth watered and her stomach grumbled as she grabbed the fettuccine and a fork, sitting down at the table. "Damn, Will. You got a hotel room and a shit load of food…do cabin boy's really make that much?" She asked, taking a big bite of pasta.

"No, but amateur pickpockets do." He said with a smirk as he sat down opposite of her. Hearing that, Julie nearly shot noodles out of her nose. After a few seconds she managed to swallow the bite in her mouth without too much coughing that made her grit her teeth in pain.

"You asshole. How much did you use?" She practically hissed.

"Well the room was 300 for the night; another 150ish for the food and I was about to give the waiter the rest so you have about 50 credits left." He answered, taking a bite of his steak while she scowled and begrudgingly took another bite of pasta.

"You are such an ass sometimes." She grumbled through her mouthful of food.

"I know." He said with a satisfied smile. "You've told me."

—

An hour later Julie was laying on the bed feeling very full and a little tipsy, thanks to the couple of shots of her last remaining bottle of alcohol she and Will had finished off. She heard Will come out of the bathroom and sit down on the same chair he had eaten in.

"Our clothes still need time to dry." He said simply.

"I figured as much, guess we are crashing here tonight." She stated sleepily, looking out the window— spotting the Orion nebula poking through dark and cloudy sky. "The sky must really be something on a clear night." She said.

Hearing shuffling behind her, she turned her head and propped herself up on her elbows.

"What are you doing?" She asked, after seeing Will grabbing a few pillows from the bed and dropping them on the ground.

"Getting ready for bed— looks like you claimed the bed, so I'm on the floor." He explained, without looking at her— not wanting to find out how much the tantalizing sight of a half naked woman's body would shake his resolve.

"Oh come on Will. You don't have to sleep on the floor; It is a big bed." Julie said, resting her chin on her hands.

"Isn't that going to be a little weird, with us being in towels and all?" He said hesitating a little.

"You saved my life earlier today, Will. I am not letting you sleep on the ground while I am on the bed." The young man slowed his movements and finally gave in, tossing the pillows back onto the bed and climbing under the covers— immediately turning the opposite way. Julie smiled and followed suit.

"I promise I won't bite…" She whispered, smirking. "… _hard_." She finished, running a finger down his spine— making him jump slightly and look back at her over his shoulder. Julie let out a laugh. "Sorry, I'll try to keep my hands to myself." She said mockingly innocent.

William released a sigh and rolled onto his other side so that he was facing her. "You never answered my question from earlier about why you got that pulsar map on your side."

Julie was a little surprised that he wasn't lecturing her and telling her not to touch him but, answered him nonetheless. "Honestly, I just thought it was cool that because of that little space craft from so long ago, that humanity was connected with the rest of the galaxy. So much so that today a lot of humans live their whole lives without even seeing earth. A lot of knowledge may have been lost from before the empire's founding but that was one thing that is agreed upon by modern historians." She explained, basically almost quoting her balding history teacher— who might have actually been proud that she learned something from his class.

"That is pretty interesting." William told her, looking at the young woman across from him that seemed much more interesting than when he had first met her. Her short brown and blonde hair gently framing her features; warmth and slightly inebriated joy radiating from her honey colored eyes. Her smile faltered slightly and her eye lids started to flutter, falling prey to the heavy lidded feeling he had in his own eyes at the moment.

"Hey Will." She said, finally letting her eyes close.

"Yeah?"

"Can you say that thing you did earlier." She whispered to him.

William hesitated for a moment before he reached out and gently wrapped his fingers around her hands.

"You're safe now, Julie. I'm here, you aren't alone anymore."


	7. Chapter 7

New Ch#7: Good morning

"This again, huh?" she said to herself as she drifted through the nebulas, stars, planets, etc. that made up the universe around her; like she had so many times before. Julie had had this dream, or dreams like it, many times since she was younger so it was easy to realize she was in the midst of dreaming without waking up.

Something had changed, however; this time she could easily control where she went and what she saw. She had read about this in the past; it was a phenomenon that was known as lucid dreaming. She had managed it more than a few times in the past, but never with such ease. She took note that her hair was emitting a golden light once again but, she still wasn't sure what that meant. Along with floating through the heavenly bodies, Her hair glowing was a common factor in most of her dreams.

"Everything is a projection from my own mind, since it's a dream, so why can't I figure out why my hair is like this?" She asked to herself, feeling a little confused as to why she couldn't understand what was going on inside of her own head. "I mean it looks cool and everything but, what is it supposed to mean?"

When she couldn't figure it out she decided to focus on something else rather than get frustrated. So it wasn't long before she noted that the astronomical bodies and structures were more clear to her than they had been in past dreams. She also actually remembered how she got there; she had actually started out where she knew she roughly was in the Milky Way galaxy and explored out from there. She was curious to see how far she could push out and have everything still remain coherent.

"I wonder what I'll see if I go out to the uncharted territory." She said. Julie had spent countless amounts of time looking out at the stars with Delbert and her father when she was younger and even more time studying star-maps. It was a strange hobby to have as a kid but, she had wanted to track all of the battles of Captain Flint in order to find his treasure.

"Who knew I would actually get to find it one day." She said with a chuckle. Her younger self would probably explode if she knew that she would get to see her dream through in the future.

So far, she had put enough distance from the Milky Way to turn around and see it's entirety without having to move her eyes or head. She turned around and continued to move towards the nearest galaxy and her name sake; Andromeda. She slowed as she got closer and could swear she was faintly hearing a voice.

Julie pushed closer and closer but she still couldn't make out the words. She stopped and concentrated on her senses. Julie slowly spun around and tried to look, listen, and feel in just about every direction. She sighed slightly and rotated back towards the bright center of the Andromeda galaxy; only to find herself nose to nose with a beautiful woman with brightly glowing eyes and hair.

"Hello!" She said excitedly, causing Julie to scream in surprise.

"WHAT THE FU—"

—

Julie's eyes snapped open and she found herself back on Onyx, soft light streaming in through the window. Slowly sitting up and rubbed her eyes, she glanced around the room. 'What the fuck was that about?' She thought sluggishly as the fogginess of sleep slowly seeped out of her head while she pondered over the dream. Muffled sunlight gently illuminated the room.

Looking out the window she saw it was cloudy and lightly raining outside. Feeling something shift in the bed, she looked down to find William's muscular and tattooed body radiating warmth next to her. She began to panic at first before she remembered the events of last night and how they ended up here together.

She looked over his sleeping form; His body above his waist lay uncovered by the blankets and sheets on the bed, but she could also see he had one leg hanging off the side. His chest slowly rose and fell, his face had adopted a peaceful expression on it that made him look a lot younger than he usually did— especially with the slightly patchy beard he was clearly trying to grow. Waking up like this felt strangely nice in a way that Julie had never felt before.

Then again she had never really slept in the same bed as a man since she was a little girl. After a few moments she saw him stirring again, realizing now one of his hands was around where she had been laying next to him, his fingers were still lightly gripping her waist pulling her towards him ever so slightly. Julie felt the familiar fluttering feeling in her stomach.

'He is certainly protective…' Julie thought, feeling the fluttering increase and turn into warmth that infected her entire body.

Looking up towards his face once again, she saw his eyelids fluttering open. His blue green looked around and then lock onto her. She smiled sleepily at him and slid a hand up his arm. "Good morning, soldier boy." She said softly. Watching him smile in return.

"This is a welcome change from the usual dreams." He said sleepily, slowly running his hand up the soft skin of her waist and back.

"Wait, what?" Julie said, a little confused. She looked down and saw that the towel she had fallen asleep with, was nowhere in sight. Her eyes widened and she gasped slightly as she looked back at him and quickly covered her chest with her arm— ignoring the pain in her ribs at her sharp intake of breath as best she could.

She felt his warm and callused hand gently touching her, start to pull her towards him.

"Will!" She yelped. "W-what the hell are you doing?!"

This seemed to snap him out of his half-asleep state, because his eyes shot open wide and he looked around before quickly looking back at her. He immediately let go of her and tried to back away as fast as possible, which lead to him flopping out of the bed— bringing the blankets and sheets with him.

He recovered quickly and stood up facing her— completely uncovered and at ' _full mast._ ' Julie's mouth dropped so much it may as well have hit the floor. William quickly looked down and grabbed a sheet and pulled it over himself.

"Sorry! I'm sorry—I really thought this was a dream…" He tried to apologize and explain but was so jumbled he was making next to no sense.

This was the most flustered and frantic Julie had ever seen William in the months she had known him. Once she picked up her jaw off the floor, she tried to find something more to cover herself but found that he had taken everything besides her pillow; so she resorted to putting a pillow over her lap and keeping her hand and arm over her chest.

"That still doesn't explain why your… _you know_ , is like… _that_!" She said, her face feeling like she was about to go super nova due to the amount of heat her cheeks radiated.

"Well, there are a couple reasons for that…" He responded hesitantly. "But, I mean it _is_ the morning so…ya know…"

"What the is that supposed to mean?" She let out an laugh inspire of the situation and grimace slightly at the pain in her side again.

"It's—…never mind I can explain later but for now I am gonna get my clothes." He said with a small smile, shaking his head and finally getting a grip on his own embarrassment.

"Sounds like a plan, you fucking coo-coo cock—er, clock!" She said, watching him dragging a tangle of blankets and sheets into the bathroom. Once he disappeared into the bathroom she fell forward and lightly thumped her head against the softness of the bed with an embarrassed groan. "What the hell is wrong with me."

—

A little while later they both sat silently across from each other at a diner, waiting for their breakfast with pink tinted cheeks.

"So…that's really just something that happens to all guys in the morning?" She asked quietly.

"Yes, you can look it up when you get the chance. It's called _nocturnal penile tumescence_." He responded, trying to match her volume so no one else could hear.

"Sounds like dick cancer." Julie mumbled, smirking into her drink, confused why medical terms always had to be long and weird.

"I don't have dick cancer!" William retorted a little too loudly, drawing a few stares. He was still feeling flustered every time he thought about what had happened. He shot her an annoyed glare and saw her smirking slightly at him. "It's just a normal thing that happens to every human male. Happens to some non-humans as well, but that's besides the point."

"What was that stuff you said about their being multiple reasons then;" She asked staring at him over her orange juice— starting to recall the morning more clearly. "And what was that stuff about thinking it was a dream?"

"That was…well…" Will started, trying to think of an answer. Luckily the waitress arrived at that moment with their food and he was saved from giving an answer as he shoved the sandwich he had ordered into his mouth quickly and tried to change the topic. "Hurry and finish your food, we have to get back to the transport soon."

She nodded and remained quiet until they were sitting down in a nearly empty transport ferry heading back to the spaceport. "You never answered my question." She stated simply. William groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose— finally realizing he would have to be bluntly honest and tell her the truth.

"I was like that because of you." He admitted, staring out the window. "I thought it was a dream. Why the else would a beautiful girl be naked and sitting in bed next to me…touching my arm and saying good morning like that?"

The young woman didn't respond to him and he didn't want to make it more uncomfortable so he continued to look out the window. They continued like that even after they got off the transport. They silently made their way through the busy pathways, past many different ships and docks until William couldn't take it anymore and stopped, pulling her aside to a less busy side street.

"Look, Julie." He started in a serious tone. "I am really sorry; after everything that happened yesterday— this morning must have really made you uncomfortable but, I just want you to know that I would never do something like that; I just—" His apology was interrupted by her abruptly flicking him in the forehead. He blinked in surprise, stopped talking and looked up at her, confused.

"Will, you saved my life. Don't even think for a second you and that other guy fall into the same category. This morning was…surprising…and awkward I guess…but, the stuff that sack of shit tried to do is just about the farthest thing in my mind when I am with you." She explained. After he had started apologizing she realized that he thought he had just traumatized her even more and she need him to know that wasn't the case.

"I feel safe with you Will. That didn't change because of…whatever happened this morning."

"I just thought…when you didn't respond on the transport…" He said, trying to piece together his thoughts coherently.

He saw Julie's face heat up; taking on the likeness of a ripe tomato. "I didn't respond when you said that because I didn't really know how to respond to something like that. I mean…" She looked are her boots, unable to meet his gaze. "No one has ever called me beautiful before…"

"Wh— seriously?" The young man asked.

She just nodded in response.

"Oh, I uh…" He mumbled, feeling his own face heat up again. "We should probably get back to the _Legacy_ now. Don't want to get left behind and have to live off of your pickpocket money." He said, directing the focus away from something that was making both of their brains cease functionality.

"You ever gonna give me the rest of my money?" She said as they started walking again.

"What do you think paid for breakfast?" Will asked with a laugh. He quickly dodged her elbow jab that was meant for his ribs and smirked back at her. "I think the waitress appreciated her tip since the bill was only 20 credits."

This time her elbow landed firmly in his ribs and made him grunt. "At least I finally got you back for the fucking flick thing from yesterday." She grumbled, lamenting that she was once again broke.

"Yeah, so what is it now?" He asked with a smirk. "2 to 1, in my favor?"

She groaned when she realized he was right and that she had to get him 2 more times to have the lead. "You are such an ass."

"I know." He said, smacking her hand away as she tried to flick him again.

—

"Oh! Juliet!" They heard once they stepped back onto the deck of the _Legacy_. The young woman was enveloped in a smothering hug from Delbert before she could get away. "I was so worried about you! There was news that there was gang-related violence and a triple homicide in the city last night and I stayed up half the night wondering if you were ok!" He babbled, on the verge of tears before he noticed the bruising on her face.

"What happened to your face?!" He yelp in surprise, which quickly turned to panic. "We have to get you to a doctor!"

"No. I am fine, Delbert." She quickly assured him. "I just took a dive, running around in the rain yesterday and cushioned my fall with my face."

Delbert still look frightfully worried so she continued and gestured over to William who was trying to slip away unnoticed. "Will actually helped me out a lot. He made sure I was fine and that I got to a hotel safe and sound."

The astronomer almost immediately captured the cabin boy's hand and pumped it up and down. "Thank you so much young man! I made a promise to her mother to keep her safe but sometimes I just feel like I am scrambling just to keep up with her!" He explained without letting the Will respond. "I can't tell you how relieved I am that there are so many trust worthy people around to look out for her. I have known her since she was in diapers— back then she used to call me 'Uncle Delly'." He reminisced, rambling into a tangent. "She was the same way she is now whenever I would babysit. She would toss her diaper off and run around, naked as a jaybird hollering about—"

"I think thats enough!" Julie cut in abruptly, pulling William away and pushing him towards the galley. "We have lots of cabin stuff to do before we set off again."

"I hope you can tell me the rest of the story later, Doc!" Will said over his shoulder, ignoring Julie's glare.

Once they had descended into the empty galley, he spoke to Julie with a shit-eating grin on his face. "Were you feeling embarrassed because now, at least two people on this ship have seen you naked?"

She punched him in the side and stomped over to the newly filled purp barrel. "He only saw when I was still in diapers and you…you only barely saw my chest for a second so, that doesn't count either!" She growled at him, taking a bite of her fruit.

'Long enough to see your nipple piercing.' Will thought with another smirk. Looking back and seeing the look on his face made Julie pick up another fruit and chuck it at his head. "Shut up!"

"I didn't even say anything!" He laughed, dodging fruit.

"You were thinking something stupid!" She yelled, tossing more fruit at him. They were both to distracted to hear Silver coming down the stairs.

'What is she psychic now?' William thought amusedly; Half trying to test out if she could hear his thoughts.

"What's all this now?" He said, after observing the ongoing fruit war taking place in the galley. "Hey! quit that t'rowin; keep goin' like that and we'll be keelin' over from scurvy in no time flat!"

Julie reluctantly put down the fruit in her hand— glaring at the young man who was succeeding, mostly, at keeping a deadpan expression.

"Enough of that; we got work to do!" Silver said, pulling the young woman into the kitchen by her collar and motioning for Will to follow.

—

The voice whispered next to her ear taunting her; the feeling his hand slowly moving up her legs elicited panicked anxiety and made her feel nauseous. No matter how hard she struggled, she was never strong enough. No matter how frantic her attempts, she couldn't escape. Pain lanced through her side as she struggled to get enough oxygen.

Julie jolted awake in a cold sweat, sitting upright and looking around to find that she was still in the same musty hold of the ship that she had fallen asleep in earlier. She felt pain radiating in her side from her ribs and slowly managed to calm her breathing and heart rate.

'This is the third time I have woken up tonight.' Julie thought glumly to herself. She was exhausted and drained. All she wanted to do was sleep without being tortured in her own dreams.

'What the hell is wrong with me; why can't I just forget about that guy?' She pulled her knees to her chest and looked around the dark area, filled with the sound of snoring, until she got to Will's hammock.

'I slept fine in the hotel room…'

She found the outline of his sleeping figure in the dark with here eyes. Julie glanced around again to make sure no one else was awake before she slipped out of her hammock and tiptoed over to him. She hesitated for a second before reaching and nudging his shoulder.

"…Will…will, come on, wake up." She whispered to him. After a few seconds he rolled over and lifted his head to look at her through half open eyes.

"Julie…?" He mumbled, half asleep. "Was goin' on?"

Julie felt stupid and embarrassed but the darkness covered the evidence on her face. "…Can I sleep here?" She asked hesitantly.

"With me?" He asked, trying to process what she was saying.

"I can't sleep. I keep dreaming about the…the guy in the alleyway…" She whispered as quietly as possible. Even if he didn't have anyone above him they were still weren't that far away from her hammock that had Mr. Snuff in the one above her. After thinking for a second William nodded and lifted the blanket for her. Julie slid in next to him with a relieved sigh.

The hammock was big so it easily held both of them, but it _was_ still a hammock so they were pushed together underneath the blanket. Making the best of it, before she got too embarrassed; Julie snuggled close and put her head on his chest. He soon relaxed and wrapped his arms around her.

"Thanks, Will." She whispered, letting his warmth burn away the tension and anxiety that had been weighing down on her. She never knew that just sleeping next to someone could feel this good.

"Anytime, Julie." He responded, fading back into unconsciousness. "You're safe now, Julie. I won't let anyone hurt you."


	8. Chapter 8

Ch#8 Just Friends

"You're letting your guard fall." William said to the exhausted young woman across from him.

"Because we have been practicing for nearly 2 hours straight!" Julie spit back, but not before raising her wooden practice sword back into the position he had drilled into her head. It had been just over a month since they had left Onyx and during that time she had convinced William to teach her some basic combat skills.

"So if you are in a sword fight and you get tired, you're just going to give up?" Will said as he lunged at her again with a relatively slow strike. She parried it successfully and tried to counter but over extended herself and stumbled when he simply moved out of the way of her strike and smacked his own on her sword; testing her grip on her weapon. She kept the practice weapon in hand successfully and turned to face him again— ready for his next strike.

"Don't over extend and sacrifice your balance for a strike." He said, a small smile on his face. "Good job hanging onto your sword, though…Again!" He called as he lunged at her.

William would be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying himself. Whether it was with a sword, knife, or in hand-to-hand fighting he was beyond expert in all of them and had years of experience in the art of killing. He was unsure if Julie had realized just how extraordinary his skills actually were. If she had ever seen soldiers in action or see one spar/train, she should have figured out by now that even in the military William was in a league of his own.

That was also why William had chosen to teach her only after most of the other crew were off their regular shifts and sleeping. If anyone else was able to observe him teaching and sparring with her they might start to ask questions about his past that he had neglected to tell anyone. Only Julie and Silver knew about him being a soldier but, past that he had kept it hidden or vague. In times that he had gotten into scuffles with the crew he had acted fast and kept his technical skills hidden by changing his fighting style to be more simple.

They came apart after striking at each other for an extended amount of time and when they came apart William could tell Julie was about at the end of her energy reserves.

'Time to begin.' He thought. The only noise that inhabited the room was their breathing. William's was calm and steady; Julie's was heavy and ragged.

Will raised his sword once again and looked at her. Without a word of complaint she raised her weapon and calmed her breath as best she could. He charged and they exchanged a flurry of blows, with him slowly increasing his speed to push her limits. He saw her trying to corner him amongst some crates where his longer reach and larger frame would pose problems.

'She's a quick study.'

A smile spread on his face as he observed her progress. Thinking tactically in the middle of a fight when you are dead tired wasn't something that came easily to anyone but, she was beginning to get a handle on it— much faster than William had thought she would. William decided it was time for today's final test so he crossed their sparring weapons in a stalemate between them and roughly broke her grip on her weapon with his free hand and dropped his own.

He didn't say anything as he switched immediately to hand-to-hand fighting, and besides letting out a surprised yelp— while dodging his first hand strike— she adapted and caught him by the arm, using the shoulder throw he had taught her to slam him onto the deck. He landed with a grunt and was nearly surprised when she delivered an elbow straight for his face.

William caught the elbow early and stopped it just short of his face. She immediately tried to strike at his face with her other hand but Will caught that as well. Leaving them sweating and staring at each other with her straddling his torso.

"You're getting pretty good at this." He said, holding her place before she swiftly drove her forehead into his face and slipped her hands out of his. She quickly grabbed one of his arms and shifted herself off to the side as she threw a leg over his neck and laid back putting him in a well practiced arm-bar. The only problem, was that she hesitated to put full pressure onto his elbow when pushing her hips upwards.

Letting out a sigh, he bridged his hips upwards and twisted his body around causing his arm to slip out of her grip— giving him the advantage as he used his weight to pin her upper body. He smoothly slipped his leg over her to straddle her before capturing her arm and putting her into the same lock she had just tried to use on him. Except he didn't hesitate to put enough pressure on her elbow, which led to her immediately tapping his leg in submission.

"Tap, Tap, Tap!"

He slowly released her arm and disentangled himself from her and crossed his legs while she laid on the ground where she had been defeated. She slowly caught her breath.

"Shit! I thought I had you there." She huffed out in exhausted, mild frustration.

"You might have, if you hadn't hesitated to finish that arm-bar." Will stand simply.

"I know, it's just…" She started to explain before Will interrupted her.

"It may just be sparring but, you have to go seriously." He explained. "Hesitation will leave you open and vulnerable, giving your opponent the chance to turn the tables on you."

She laid there quietly looking up at the ceiling, not really sure how to communicate why she felt hesitant. Julie had never grappled before they had started training together so the idea of snapping someone's arm like a twig if these techniques were used in a real fight would take some getting used to. Fear of accidentally hurting her friend wasn't exactly a comforting thought either. Strikes were a little bit easier to gauge how much would be to much force but, with submissions— especially on joint locks— the amount of pressure to apply without seriously hurting the other person was hard to grasp at first for someone who had absolutely no experience in it.

"I know, I know. Sorry." She said, getting up and grabbing the small towel she had brought and handed it to him.

He looked at her slightly confused before he realized his nose was leaking blood down his face as a result of her head-butt. "Thanks." He said, wiping away the blood and testing make sure his nose wasn't broken. He caught the slightly guilty look she was giving him before she could hide it by trying to turn and walk away to grab their practice swords off the ground where they had dropped.

"Julie, I'm fine." He said, after quickly getting up and following her over before sitting down on a nearby crate. "Honestly, it was a good head-butt, you may have a talent for this."

She turned around, trying to subdue the beaming smile that suddenly wanted to push onto her face.

"Thanks, but I feel like suddenly switching to hand to hand like that was a bit evil." She said with a tired laugh which seemed to infect William as well. They laughed and talked for a few minutes, going over the last spar; What she needed to work on and what she did well with. William had been slowly increasing the speed and techniques during their sessions. She may not be able to beat him in a fight but, she was getting very good very fast.

"How have your ribs and stomach been feeling?" He asked. It had been about 5 weeks so the injuries should be mostly gone by now but he checked up on her every so often to make sure she was healing properly.

"Pretty good, nothing hurts anyway." She answered. Her gaze slipped to the wooden sword in her hands as she continued a bit more quietly. "You can check them after I shower off if you want…"

William felt a familiar tight feeling in his chest as he darted his eyes away as well. "Y-yeah, sounds good. The bathroom should be empty around this time— not that most of the crew even clean themselves anyway." He said, breaking the slightly awkward tension with a laugh which she reciprocated.

"Yeah, they smell like they have an allergy to soap and water." She said as they walked down out of the secluded cargo section of the ship.

They both grabbed a change of clothes and a clean towel in the silent section of the hull where the crew slept, before going down further to the bathroom/shower area. It was a simple area with a few closed off toilet rooms and a section of a few showers that were in stalls for privacy. William set his change of clothes on a bench along a wall next to the showers while Julie went into one of the toilet rooms to undress.

Once she was out of the room he quickly undressed himself and took his towel and soap to a shower stall and hung the towel just outside the door so it wouldn't get wet. He turned on the water and shut the stall door which only blocked from his mid calf to his chest from the sight of anyone who would be standing outside of the shower stall. When he heard the toilet room door open he looked over and saw Julie.

She had a towel wrapped around her torso and had her clothes in a bundle that she set next to his on the bench. The gazes met and Will cleared his throat and looked back at the inside of his shower stall; suddenly finding something very interesting about the wall that he glued his eyes to. He felt his cheeks flushing and stuck his head under the water before he heard the door shut and the water turn on in the stall next to his. He could see her feet and ankles underneath their shared wall.

"I wonder if you take nipple piercings out in the shower…" He wondered under his breath without meaning to say the thought aloud.

"What?!" He heard her yell in surprise. Bathrooms always had a tendency to make every sound amplified.

'Well, fuck.' He thought to himself.

"I guess it was more than a quick glance back on Onyx…" He responded after nearly slamming his head into the wall at his own stupidity. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to say that out loud it just something that came to mind."

He heard her lightly thud her forehead against the wall with a heavy sigh. "…Please don't tell anyone…especially Delbert. If my mom ever found out about my tattoos or the piercing she would kill me."

William couldn't help but laugh, he had figured her for the rebellious type since he first saw her. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. Plus you know some of my secrets so I think we are about even on that."

"Wait what?" She said, confused. "You mean about you being a soldier and everything? Is that why you always keep your shirt on unless it's just me here?"

"Yeah, Silver is the only other one who knows about me being in the military at some point but I didn't tell him much about it."

"Oh, ok. Well your secret is safe with me too then." She was quiet for a minute before she added. "…and to answer your question from earlier, no I don't take it out— so it is in right now…Why were you curious? you thinking about getting one?" She said laughingly— trying to ignore the heat gathering in her face.

He laughed as well as he responded. "No, I don't think it would look as good on me." He immediately cursed himself for saying something like that but hearing her laugh at the statement made him feel a little better.

The next thing she said, made his heart nearly stop. "Do you want to see it?"

He felt like his heart was nearly beating out of his chest and he responded quietly as he felt his lower body returning to _full mast_ despite his efforts to control his thoughts.

"Yeah, sure." He said simply, looking at the wall and trying to calm himself.

"Here, look." He heard her say. He turned back slowly towards the stall door and saw her hand poking around the corner holding the small barbell nipple piercing he had seen on Onyx briefly.

"Oh that's what you—th-that's cool." He responded trying to cover up his disappointment.

"You sound like you expected me to have it in." She accused in an amused voice.

"No!" He defended weakly. "I just…"

"Guess you can't use the 'It's the morning' excuse this time." She said barely holding her laughter at her own joke.

"Shut up." He growled, affirming her suspicion that he was hard. She burst out laughing which annoyed him knowing she had played him pretty well. He just grumbled and turned off his water, grabbing his towel and drying off before wrapping it around his waist and getting out of the stall and back to his clothes.

She could see he was a bit butt hurt and called after him while her eyes drifted along his torso. "Hey, Will, don't be like that I was just joking around."

"I know I know just hurry up so I can check you out and we can go to bed." He said, steering the topic away from dangerous ground.

She turned off the water in her stall and wrapped her towel around herself and came over to where Will had sat on the bench. He was now wearing boxers and a pair of shorts and she pulled on a small pair of loose shorts and a loose shirt. She pulled up the shirt to just below her chest and was quiet as he pressed around her ribs to see if anything hurt.

'I don't know if I can keep doing this.' She thought faintly, relishing the tingling feeling his fingers left across her smooth skin more than she should. 'Will has a medical background— he is gonna figure out if…if he hasn't figured out already…' She barely suppressed a disappointed whimper when his hands left her body. William was done with the exam faster than she would have liked.

"Your injuries seemed to have completely healed, congrats I won't go easy on you now in sparring." He said with a smirk. After pulling on his shirt he grabbed his towel that he had place over his lap and started walking out of the bathroom.

"Shit, I should have pretended to be injured still." She said, trying not to give away how close it was to the truth and making him laugh in response. They both entered the sleeping area and went to their respective hammocks. Julie hung up her towel above her belongings sitting below one end of the hammock before pausing and looking back to where Will was climbing into his own.

After hesitating another second and looking around to make sure no one was awake, Julie padded quietly over to his hammock and tapped his shoulder and whispered to him. "Will…can I sleep here tonight?"

"Again?" He whispered back with a small laugh. "You allergic to your hammock of something?"

"It's nothing like that…don't be a smart-ass, just let me in." She said, then adding in an amused voice, shift her weight from one foot to the other. "I'll show you my piercing again, if you want."

"Y-yeah right, I won't fall for the same trick twice." He retorted, pulling open the blanket and moving over to giver her space to crawl in next to him. "Come on, you already know I wouldn't say no."

She smiled and slid in next to him with a small giggle. Julie didn't really know if she would do it or not; she had been planning to show him for real in the showers but had chickened out at the last second. Maybe she would try again in the morning. Maybe.

"Thanks, Will." She said, snuggling up next to him.

"You still having those nightmares?" He asked, just loud enough for her to hear.

"Sometimes…Does it bother you that I come in here all the time with you?" She asked, feeling her stomach churn slightly.

William let out a quiet laugh. "Are you really asking me if sharing my bed with a beautiful girl bothers me?"

The aforementioned beautiful girl's face immediately burned bright red in the darkness and bit her lip in a failed attempt to suppress a smile. "Forget I asked then." She managed to whisper, dodging the compliment that sent her body fluttering with a now familiar warmth.

When those dreams had first come, Will seemed to be the only deterrent. But, even when the nightmares got less and less frequent she continued to come to Will more and more. The guilt of not being truthful with him was weighing on her.

"Will…"

"Hm?" He mumbled as he drifted closer to sleep.

"Goodnight." She said, rolling over so she wouldn't have to see his blue green eyes and think about things she knew she shouldn't. Julie soon drifted into unconsciousness, faintly feeling William's warmth enveloping her.

—

"Sooooo…have you two bumped uglies yet?"

"Oh. My. God." Julie said covering her bright red face. "Please shut up."

"Ughhhhhhhhhhh, you're so boring." The glowing woman groaned, rolling her eyes and fluttering the wings on her back. This had been another thing that had changed after the events on Onyx. She would occasionally have a dream where she could fly through the universe at will as she had before but it was different than in times in the past— everything seemed more clear and realistic, almost indiscernible from reality if it weren't for the special circumstances.

Of course, there was also a irksome presence as a new addition as well. When she came back to the center of Andromeda galaxy once again, a woman with hair and eyes that shined with golden light— just like Julie's— appeared.

One thing that was different between them was the other woman had three pairs of large wings originating from her back the shone with the same golden light as both of their eyes and hair. Julie's eyes were often drawn to them— they looked beautiful.

"Look, dream-lady, Me and him are just friends— we can't just do stuff like that." Julie explained to the woman would was doing twirls and spins through the space around Julie in her boredom.

"I told you just call me Andromeda." The woman said floating upside down in front of Julie. "or 'your majesty' always works. Feels good to be called that." She finished with a cocky smirk. Julie rolled her eyes so hard she could nearly see her own brain. This woman had insisted she was the founder of the Terran Empire— Empress Andromeda Elisabeth Romanov. Julie knew that since she was in a dream, this woman must just be an extension of her own subconscious but, for some reason the lady wouldn't budge on who she was.

"I'll just call you Ellie." Julie said finally.

"What's wrong with my first name?" The lady said, rotating slowly until she was right-side up again.

"It's just a little weird calling someone my own first name." She said, not really willing to admit— even to her own subconscious— that she hated her first name. She had switched to going by her first name when she was about 10 and once she was 18 she planned to legally change it.

"Then should I call you And—"

" _ **Julie**_ **.** " The younger woman cut in; bristling with a flare of anger. The woman just put her hands up in mock surrender and floated away a little bit.

"Alright, Alright." She said, adding under her breath; "Someone is a lil _sensitive_ about names…"

"Let's just talk about something else." Julie huffed. "Tell me about those wings on your back; are you supposed to be an angel or something?"

"This again?" Ellie responded with a groan. "That's boring, we can talk about that another time. Let's talk about that William guy again."

Julie visibly flustered at the mention of Will. "Why are you so interested in him, he is just a friend."

Ellie crossed her arms, raising one eyebrow and pursing her lips in a 'You are _so_ full of shit' look.

"And that _'just a_ _friend'_ is currently the one you are currently snuggling up to almost every night?" She said bluntly, making air quotes with her fingers when she said ' _just a friend_.' "Just because you are ' _friends'_ doesn't mean you can't have a little fun at least— don't be such a chicken-shit."

"I am not a chicken-shit!" Julie yelled.

"Oh?" Ellie asked simply. "Then, what happened with the plan to show him the nipple thingy?"

"Well, I mean— I technically showed him…" She mumbled.

"Not with it attached to your tit _,_ dumbass." The woman retorted, her crass words clashing harshly with her angelic looks. "You showed him a shiny rock. Congrats." She spat sarcastically before closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose with a heavy sigh. "I am telling you— you have to use the assets you have!"

"He still got hard though…" Julie grumbled under her breath. At hearing this the other woman perked up.

"He what?" she inquired, darting closer to Julie with a grin.

"Nothing!" Julie said, her face bright red while she averted her eyes away from the intrusive woman who continued to badger her and dart to wherever she averted her eyes to. Julie shot off, back in the direction of the Milky way and yelled over her shoulder. "We are running out of time so I think I am gonna go back now, Bye!"

"Not before you tell me what you just said!" Elisabeth yelled as she chased after Julie. The angelic woman was laughing maniacally with a bright grin on her face as she chased the young woman around stars and through nebulas yelling at her. "Come on, you can't run from me forever! How are you ever going to tell him how you feel if you keep acting like this?!"

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" Julie yelled to herself, closing her eyes tightly. Elisabeth was gaining on her and she never really figured out how to wake herself up.

—

Julie opened her eyes and found herself in the half light of the sleeping quarters below deck on the _Legacy_. She smiled victoriously, still half asleep.

'I win, bitch.' She thought, hoping Elisabeth could still hear her somehow. The cabin girl let out a sigh. 'Why the hell have my dreams been so crazy lately?'

She got her answer when she felt a familiar warmth next to her in the hammock.

Will murmured in his sleep next to her ear.

'Oh yeah, _him_.' she thought as she became aware of his presence. After finally waking up enough to take stock of their current position, Julie's eyes went wide. William's body was pressed tightly against her back with his hands lightly gripping her waist and his face was buried in her hair. Due to his sleep talking/murmuring his lips tickled lightly at the skin of her neck. His warmth alone made her nearly melt into a puddle; the roughness of his hands on her waist left her shuddering with pleasure. She felt a now familiar warmth gathering between her legs.

'This is bad…' She thought heatedly, trying— and failing— to think about something other than the feeling of his body against hers. Julie slowly also became aware of something hard against her rear-end. Her memory of the morning in the hotel room with him flashed through her mind.

'He really was telling the truth about guys having that in the morning.' She thought, trying to make her mind focus anywhere else but on what was pressing into her. The light-headed feeling only increased as memories of their time together continued to play through her mind.

Days of slowly growing closer as they worked together.

Warm laughter she had painstakingly drawn from him more and more as they spent time together.

The rare smiles that would light up his face.

The feeling of his arms around her when she had been falling apart that day on Onyx and many nights since.

The way he looked at her when he called her beautiful.

The parts of himself he would only share with her.

All the countless memories of their time together flooded through her head, putting her mind and body into turmoil.

' _How are you ever going to tell him how you feel if you keep acting like this?_ ' Ellie's voice echoed through her mind.

'How the hell would I tell him something I can barely admit to myself…' Julie thought miserably as she felt him shift in his sleep, pulling her tighter against him. She gasped quietly when she felt his fingers push farther under neath her shirt and tease below the waistband of her shorts. She quickly looked back and saw that his eyes were still closed.

'He sure does some interesting things in his sleep.' She remarked internally, ignoring the buzzing excitement that shuddered through her body and the pulse that thundered in her ears. Julie slid her hands over his in order to gently move the hand that had drifted below her waistband away from the part of her body that had become dangerously honest.

She left his other hand that was splayed across her toned abdomen where it was. 'Not like that one is causing any problems…' She thought, holding his now free hand where she could see it. 'Now, what should I do with this one?'

Julie slowly ran her fingers over his hand as she took note of the unique features. The calluses and roughness that told of the countless hours of hard work. She silently wondered how many of the small, faded scars were from fighting for his life on the battlefield. She had to remind herself that his was the hand of a soldier— etched with the suffering he had both caused and received.

His were hands that had ended lives but, she wondered why it was that all she could think about was how soft and gentle those hands could be on her skin…how strong and steady they were when he taught her how to hold a sword or how to tie a difficult knot. They stirred long forgotten memories of the last pair of hands she had examined this closely. But, Will's were different— William was different. He had to be different.

'I guess hands are sorta reflections of who they are attached to.' She thought as she touched her lips gently to his fingers without thinking.

"Julie…" William mumbled sleepily into her hair as he emerged from a pleasant dream. She stiffened slightly and removed her lips from his hand; chastising herself internally for indulging the strange impulse. But, she smiled in spite of herself when his fingers closed around hers gently.

"Good Morning, soldier-boy." She whispered in response tempted to give his hand another kiss. Instead, she hugged his arm snuggly against her chest without letting go of his hand.

"Sleep well?" He questioned as he kept his eyes closed and pulled her more tightly against him; breathing in the smell of her shampoo and soap from the shower the night before.

"Yeah…interesting dream, but no nightmares." She said, thinking about the strange woman that irked her— albeit endearingly— to no end. "What about you?"

"Same, interesting dreams." He said, almost drifting back to sleep.

"Must have been like the one you thought you were having on Onyx." Julie said, burning with embarrassment as the words left her lips.

At hearing that, William's eyes shot open and his body stiffened as he realized what she was referencing. He immediately tried to put as much space between them as the hammock would allow— which wasn't much.

"S-sorry!" He whispered out urgently, trying feebly to explain. "I didn't mean to— it's morning and, and…"

"Relax, I was just kidding." She said, laughing quietly. "This isn't the first time we've gone over this."

Julie slipped out of the hammock as she continued. "I'm gonna get ready, Silver will probably be calling us over soon."

"Y-yeah." He responded weakly, resisting the urge to pull her back into the hammock before she walked away.

Once she had, the young man flopped back in the hammock.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" William groaned under his breath.


	9. Chapter 9

Ch#9: Chasin' a dream

"Willy." Silver said, waving him over once Julie went down into the food storage room to get another ingredient for the dinner. "Is something goin' on? You seem to be gettin' stuck in yer noggin more than usual today."

"No, everything's fine." Will said, immediately. Silver raised an eyebrow and narrowed his eyes in a disbelieving look— which Will ignored as he went back to chopping vegetables. Ever since this morning every time Will and Julie got within close proximity or made eye contact they acted stiff and awkward. Will especially had been more quiet that usual, like he had something weighing on him.

"Will…I know Julie is a special lass but, ya gotta watch yourself before you get in too deep." Silver said, feeling a bit of sympathy for the young man. Julie, Will, and Silver had all grown rather close during the time spent together. Perhaps too close. "Keep your eyes on the prize, Will. Getting emotionally invested will only get in the way."

"I'll be fine, Silver." William's hands stilled momentarily. "As long as we stick to the plan, everything should go smoothly."

"Of course, Willy." Silver assured him, turning back to his own task. Not betraying anything that went through his mind on his face.

Not long after, Julie emerged from the pantry room carrying the ingredients she was asked to grab.

"Thank ya' lass." Silver said, taking ingredients and prepping them to add to the stew. "By the way, Once we 'ave the galley cleaned up after supper, I got a little somethin' fer you two pups."

Julie just rolled her eyes thinking another menial task was about to be laid of the two of them.

—

"So, what are we gonna be doin' this time, Silver?" Julie questioned, stifling a yawn while she followed Will and Silver deeper into the lower decks of the _Legacy_. "Some more cleaning or something?"

"No, no— nothing like that." Silver said, looking over his shoulder with a slight twinkle in his eye. "This is sometin' far more interestin', Lass."

Julie perked up slightly; filled with curiosity. She looked to Will for a hint but, all he did was give a half-interested shrug. Now that she thought about it, he had been acting a distant most of the day. She made a mental note to talk to him later despite the tight, nervous, feeling in her chest.

Scenes of the morning waking up together played through her head as she quietly followed behind William and Silver. Her eyes drifted up to that back of Will's head every so often.

'Is he mad at me?' She questioned herself. 'He got a little annoyed at the showers with me teasing him, but this seems different.'

'It has to be about this morning or last night.' She thought, feeling an apprehensive knot form in her gut. 'Maybe he is finally fed-up with me hopping into his hammock all the time. Why the hell did I even have to mention anything?'

Julie's thoughts drifted away from the young man when the group walked though a doorway into a large open room with a 4 meter sloop being suspended by ropes and a pulley system in the middle of the room. The space craft had a single engine, powered by a solar sail that was folded and stowed. The engine was about double the size of the one on her solar surfer.

Julie couldn't help but smile as she thought about what it would be like to take this craft for a spin. Sure, it wouldn't be as maneuverable but it could probably get some considerably high speeds than she could hope to hit with her solar surfer's smaller engine and sail. She watched as Silver and Will climbed into the craft and started working on the ropes that held it in place.

"Julie, get over there and pull that lever to open up the hatch." Silver called, motioning to a lever that stuck out of the ground next to a large hatch that was underneath the sloop. Julie quickly made her way over to it and pulled it to the open position and watched as the hatch slid open and the sloop was slowly lowered into the Etherium below the ship.

"No way!" She said, excitedly as she felt the wind rustle through her clothes and try to push her hair into a frenzy despite it being held back in a loose bun. She watched as the solar sail was extended and opened to it's full size. It's hexagonal pattern fluttering to life once it was touched by the solar energy.

Her heart sank when she saw Silver take the controls and the sloop went out of view of the hatch; leaving her standing there alone. But, her excitment was reignited when she saw the sloop pull into view again, this time with Will and Silver looking up at her with smiles and gesturing to jump down.

"Fuck yeah!" She yelled as she dropped the distance and landed in the craft, before taking up a seat next to Silver as he guided them slightly away from the _Legacy_. Julie sat up and reveled in the feeling of the wind pushing her hair back and rustling through her clothes. The desire to go faster was already scratching at the back of her mind like a bad addiction that needed a fix.

Silver tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention and started to give her a brief rundown of how the throttles and steering worked. The controls were pretty straight forward so Julie was able to devise how to work it in the span of a handful of moments. The young woman quickly took hold of the controls and opened up on the throttle immediately with an excited grin spreading across her face.

The lecture of how to work the controls was cut short when the sloop sprung forward in response to Julie's handling. Silver gripped onto the seat with one hand and held his hat down with the other to keep it from getting blown off. All he could do was hold an astonished look on his face as he witnessed the young woman immediately handling the space craft like she had done it all her life. As he continued to watch her to correct any bad habits or mistakes she might make he saw that she was rapidly correcting herself on her own, every maneuver was smoother than the last, no mistake was repeated more than once.

'She's even better than I was at that age.' Silver thought to himself with a chuckle. 'She's something special alright.'

William, to his credit, had been prepared and secured himself into place farther up on the sloop with solid hand holds. The memory of the tattoo on the inside of Julie's right bicep flashed through his head, as he finally figured out what it meant.

'Adrenaline junky.' He thought to himself with a laugh as he looked back to the young woman piloting the sloop. The scenery of the cosmos flew by as she slipped the ship effortlessly around asteroid belts and nebula clouds. 'Can't say I'm much different though.'

Julie's eyes lit up as she spotted a nearby comet that was leaving a shower of ice and snow in it's trail. She pointed the bow of the sloop straight for the tail of the comet. She ignored the protests of Silver with a wicked grin, before closing up the solar sails and plunging them into what she could only guess was the equivalent of a snow storm. Being born of a desert planet hadn't yielded her any experiences with snow, but she had read enough books to get the general idea.

Sweeping back and forth, dodging larger chunks of ice and gliding the hull along the currents of snow and ice. After a few minutes Julie finally guided the sloop back out into open space and flipped open the solar sails to charge the engines once again. She couldn't help the laughter that erupted from her throat as she guided the sloop back toward the _Legacy_.

Her laughter was apparently infectious because William and Silver joined in with gleeful abandon; gratefully slackening their grips on the sides of the space craft. William looked back toward the adrenaline fueled pilot and couldn't stop his heart from skipping a beat.

Snowflakes from the comet's tail caught in her now loose, mostly blonde, hair that seemed to dance and reflect the light of the multitude of stars that drifted around them. The wind had turned her cheeks and nose a slightly rosy pink. Joyful light danced in her eyes that were lit up with the smile that colored her face her face. If Will hadn't known better he would have thought she was shining like one of the many stars in the sky, like the universe around them had taken human form.

He only stifled the strangely strong urge to reach out to her when they had to hoist the sloop back up into the ship and secure it. Julie and Will finished tying of their end of the sloop quickly and plopped back down in the relatively small craft, sitting across from each other. William found it difficult to focus on anything but the young woman across from him— continually wondering how someone could be so beautiful it put the Milky Way to shame. He had never taken the time to just…look at her before. Now, he was glad he finally had.

William's attention only strayed from Julie when Silver had started talking.

"Oh, Julie." Silver sighed happily, as he collapsed gratefully into the seat next to Julie with an easy smile on his face that the three seemed to have infected each other with."If I coulda flown like that back when I was yer age, they'd be bowin' in the streets when I walked by today!" Silver said enthusiastically.

"Well, they weren't exactly singin' my praises when I left home…" Julie said, her smile faltering slight before coming back with renewed and determined strength. "But, I'm gonna change all that." She finished with determination in her voice.

Morph plopped down onto William's shoulder as Silver responded.

"Are ya now?" He asked, sounding only half interested, wiping his face with a handkerchief. "How so?"

Julie just smiled and leaned back, putting her hands behind her head and closing her eyes. "I, uh, got some plans…gonna make people see me a little differently."

"Oh…" Silver and William exchanged a slightly guilty look. "Plans…sometimes go astray, lass." Silver finished weakly.

"Not this time." Julie said, totally sure of herself.

Silver was thinking about what to say for a moment before a sudden pain made him grimace slightly and grab his leg above the prosthetic. Morph immediately flew off Will's shoulder and over to Silver as the older man let out a grunt and propped the prosthetic up. Will had see this a few times even though Silver tried to be discreet about it. He had heard about the condition in his medical training.

'Phantom pains.' Will recalled. 'Pain experienced in a limb or part of a limb that isn't there anymore after traumatic amputation…cybernetics can sometimes agitate it, if the nerve connection isn't occasionally reset and given maintenance by a professional.' Silver's prosthetics were obviously an older model and although they worked well, affording the cost of maintenance was difficult cost to bear to say the least.

Bitter anger coiled in his gut. He had seen things similar to this in the cases of many veterans who had been injured in the war. Case after case of older soldiers and spacers barely able to keep their heads above water financially while dealing with the mental and emotional effects of combat.

'You'd think that the Empire would actually keep it's promises about taking care of those that have sacrificed so much for them.' Will clenched his jaw in anger. 'Of course not. They just saw us a tools. We outlived our usefulness. Once we are broken, whats the point in fixing them.'

Julie, who had opened up her eyes at Silver's grunt, sat up and quietly watched as morph formed into a wrench that the cook used to adjust a few things on his outdated prosthetics.

"So, uh…how'd that happen anyway?" She asked as gently as possible.

Silver lifted his prosthetic arm into his view and looked over his arm and leg silently for a moment with a far away look on his face before answering.

"Ya give up a few tings'…" He stated solemnly. "…Chasin' a dream."

There was a slightly heavy silence that fell over them. William looked down at his own hands, dotted in various scars.

"Was it worth it?" Julie asked after a few moments.

Silver smirked slightly, leaning back and pushing his hat over his eyes. "I'm hopin' it is, Julie. I most surely am."

A more comfortable silence fell over them and Julie followed Silver's example and leaned back with her hands behind her head and hers eyes closed once again. William took off his bandana and combed his fingers through his hair before pushing any complicated thoughts aside and doing the same.

It wasn't more than ten seconds after Will closed his eyes that he heard a faint noise that made his eyes snap back open. He looked around for a moment, his body tensed and straining to sense whatever it was that was making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

"Hey, do you guys—" He started to ask before an explosion's deafening roar thundered over him and the ship shuddered dangerously. The sloop swung erratically for a moment, precariously close to the walls and support beams in the compartment before calming.

"What the hell was that?!" Julie yelled as she and Silver were both came to their feet. Will was already out of the sloop and almost to the door with a serious expression on his face.

"Let's get topside and find out!" Silver responded, exiting the sloop and following the cabin boy.

—

"The star Pelusa…it's gone supernova!" Delbert yelled from from somewhere behind where Silver, William, and Julie stood gazing at the titanic explosion. Despite the thousands of kilometers between the ship and the exploding star the heat could still be easily felt on exposed skin.

"Evasive action, Mr. Turnbuckle!" The Captain ordered over the searingly uncomfortable heat and intense solar wind.

"Aye-aye, Captain." The crew member at the helm responded, immediately putting considerable effort into maneuvering the ship.

" **All hands, fasten your life lines!** "

The order once again sprung the crew to life as they nearly trampled over each other to complete the order.

"Mr. Arrow, secure those sails!" Captain Amelia ordered as she secured Dr. Doppler's lifeline around his waist, while he stood in the same place tapping furiously on a radar/sensor read out.

" **Secure All Solar Sails!** " Arrow bellowed over the chaos.

The crew moved with urgency to their tasks and Julie and Silver made their way out onto the bowsprit to pull in the sprit sails. Being that she was the smallest and most agile, Julie was the farthest one out and despite the lifeline secured to her she felt her stomach do a flip every time the ship lurched and threatened to toss her into the open space below.

Despite all of this, she held herself together and completed her role efficiently. After securing the sail, she inched her way back toward the deck and saw the Silver was doing the same. Before either of them could react another explosive wave rocked the ship— accompanied by a small shower of flaming debris that Julie felt slightly sting her cheek. More urgently, was that she saw Silver's prosthetic leg slip off the bow sprit while the flaming debris flew dangerously close to him and caught his lifeline on fire.

Silver was falling before he could do anything to regain his balance but, was surprised when he was jerked to a stop by his weakened lifeline. He looked up and saw Julie holding fiercely onto the rope, leveraging it over the bowsprit to create a fulcrum by leaning her weight back and make it easier to bear the weight of the cyborg alone. Slowly, inch by painful inch Julie was able to pull Silver back towards the ship until he was able to grab hold of something and pull himself onto the deck.

"Thank ya, lass." Silver said with a sigh of relief.

Julie looked down at her hands that had been rubbed nearly raw. She felt the warmth of blood trickling down her cheek and touching the corner of her mouth.

"I'm gonna start to look like Will if this keeps up." She said with a laugh before following Silver back towards the aft of the ship. As they made their way closer, they saw the port-side cannons going to work blasting larger sized pieces of flaming debris. She saw Will coming down on the rigging and relief washed over her slightly as a weight left her shoulders for a moment to see that he was alright.

Before she could say anything to him, however, she saw one of the crew members that had been manning one of the cannons jerk suddenly, then slump to the deck as the cannon went silent. William moved smoothly over to kneel next to the downed crew member; reaching out and feeling for a pulse. After a few moments he shook his head and stood before sliding into the seat of the cannon and went to work blasting pieces of debris.

Julie's stomach sank slightly when she saw the red stains on the shirt that he wore. Now that she took the time to look at the other crew members— she saw that most were sporting similar injuries to the one on her cheek. Some, like the cannon crewman, lay lifelessly on the deck or hung limply— caught in the rigging above. While she was looking around the deck she heard the cannons going silent until only one remained.

The young woman looked back to find the crew manning the cannons dumbstruck; others ran altogether and Julie couldn't help but sympathize with their impulse when she saw what made them react that way.

The deck slowly darkened and the crew all looked off the port-side of the ship and adopted similarly shocked expressions.

A massive piece of flaming debris, easily big enough to be the moon of a large planet grew larger and larger as it careened towards the _Legacy_.

No one had any words to say as they watched their inevitable death growing closer. Everyone stood still. Everyone except for one cabin boy.

William resolutely fired the cannon he manned along barely visible fault lines on the large piece of debris with expert precision. Julie moved before she really thought about what she was doing. She was sitting in the seat of the cannon next to Will in a moment and started trying to work with him to break apart the astroid. Silver saw his two young friends fighting with everything they had despite the overwhelming odds and it ignited a fire in his chest that erupted out of his throat.

" **GET YER ARSES INTA GEAR, YA SACKS OF SHITE!** " Silver roared easily heard by everyoen one deck, jumping into another cannon's, seat next to Julie. " **WE AIN'T GONNA DIE HERE BOYS!** "

The fire that had been lit in Silver by the two young people rapidly took hold of the rest of the crew that heard his words and spurred them into action. It wasn't long before all of the cannons on the port side were being fired again. The shots hitting along the fault lines, in an attempt to work together to break apart the astroid. Eventually the piece of debris broke slowly apart but, seemed to start to slow down and stop a few kilometers from the ship.

Relief washed over most of the crew, including Julie. She switched out with another crew member and walked over to where Will still looked off the port-side with a grim expression on his face. She felt the wind slow and then change direction as if pulling them back towards the center of the supernova. Julie looked and saw the large piece of debris that had been about to collide with the ship retreating away faster and faster— back towards the star. Revealing a fiery whirlpool of gargantuan proportions; at the center of which held something Julie had hoped she would never encounter.

"It's…it's devolving into a black hole!" She heard Delbert say in disbelief somewhere near the helm.

"We're gettin' pulled in!" Mr. Turnbuckle gritted out as he wrestled with the helm to keep them from going bow first towards the singularity. With a sudden explosive wave that originated from the black hole, the helmsman was knocked loose from the wheel and struck a bulkhead— rendering him unconscious.

"Oh no you don't!" Captain Amelia yelled as she grabbed the spinning wheel and put all of her strength into trying to guide her ship away from the black hole. Another blast-wave, from the black hole that seemed determined to devour it's surroundings, hit the ship once again— nearly knocking the captain away from the helm. Captain Amelia barely managed to hold on and continued to try and control her ship.

"Blast these wave!" She grunted in frustration. "They're so deucedly erratic!"

"No, Captain." Delbert responded, leaning over the radar and sensor read out. "They're not erratic at all. In fact, there'll be another one in precisely 47 seconds— followed by the biggest magillah of them all!"

The Captain's face changed as an idea sprouted in her head. "Of course! Brilliant, Doctor!"

Dr. Doppler looked confused but, went back to analyzing incoming waves on the readout.

Arrow appeared next to the Captain. "All sails secured, Captain!"

"Good man! Now, release them immediately!" She called with eccentric light in her eye.

"A-aye, Captain." Arrow responded, a bit confused but turned to follow the order anyway. "You heard her, men! **UNFURL THOSE SAILS!** "

"What?!"

"But we just finished tying them down!"

"Make up your bloomin' minds!" A few crew members growled before they climbed back up the rigging. Arrow followed them up to help with their task.

The Captain looked around and spotted Julie about to climb up the rigging. "Miss Hawkins! Make sure all lifelines are secured good and tight!"

"Aye-aye Captain!" Julie responded, jumping down to the deck and running around the main-mast— tugging firmly on all of the knots that might be the only thing to save the lives of her fellow crew members from certain death. Another wave from the black hole rocked the ship as Julie finished.

"Lifelines secured, Captain!" Julie yelled.

"Very good!" The Captain called back before focusing fully on steering the ship.

Julie looked up and saw that all the sails were unfurled and looked around for something to do or someone to help with a task. She couldn't help but scream when she finally found someone in need of assistance.

" **WILL!** " She cried as she saw him dangling by his lifeline off the side of the ship. He was being flung back and forth, only being held back from the reality rending jaws of the singularity by the rope around his waist. Julie ignored her already sensitive and hurting hands as she gripped onto the rope and painstakingly pulled in the cabin boy.

When he finally pulled himself onto the deck once he could grab ahold of the bulwark Julie patted him down for injuries, leaving, light, bloody handprints across his shirt. She turned his face towards her and he had an expression she couldn't quiet understand.

"Will, are you ok?" She asked, feeling tears stinging at the corners of her eyes. "I thought you had learned not to slip off the yardarms by now." She said over the wind with a small smile.

"Julie, I—" Will began before Dr. Doppler shouted close by— drawing his attention.

"Captain! That last wave, here it comes!"

"Hold on to your lifelines, gents!" The Captain called. "It's gonna be a bumpy ride!"

William quickly picked up Julie and ran over to the Mainmast. He set her down and she turned and grasped as much of the mast as she could.

After Julie had gripped onto the main-mast as tightly as she could, she felt Will's arm come around her and press her even tighter to the wood. They turned their faces for one last glance at light-bending edge that grew ever closer, then looked back to each other. The light around them started to fade as Will gently set his forehead against hers.

Blue-green softly met amber-gold despite the chaos that surrounded them. She saw his lips move but couldn't hear the words that came out.

"Now or never, I suppose." She said aloud, knowing there wasn't a hope of him hearing her. The light continued to fade and both of their eyes fluttered closed as their lips inched closer.

Everything went dark and silent. The rest of the universe faded away. Julie would have thought she was dead if she hadn't felt his lips capturing hers.

 _Warm_.

In the way everything about him always felt when he was with her. Softer than she thought they'd be. The faint hint of the metallic taste of blood mixed in to create a first kiss she wouldn't have ever thought up in her wildest dreams.

'Not a bad way to go.' She thought vaguely before light, heat and sound from the explosive wave encompassed everything around her and rocketed the ship away from the edge of the known universe. She felt Will break away from her and heard the rest of the crew letting out cheers and dancing around the deck. Julie let out a laugh and hugged Will and felt Silver encompassing them both into a bear hug, lifting them off the ground.

On the deck above them, Captain Amelia stood confident and calm, examining their surroundings to make sure they were out of danger for the time being. Dr. Doppler pulled himself from a pile of rope.

"Captain! That— oh, my goodness. That was—…that was absolutely—…that was the most—" The doctor started to say.

"Oh, tish-tosh." The Captain stated dismissively, like she hadn't just secured her place into every history book, Naval tactics textbook, or adventure story that would be written for the next three decades. "Actually doctor…your astronomical advice was most helpful." She said with a slight smirk as he finally freed himself from the rope.

When he finally registered her compliment he stammered and nearly stumbled over himself in response. "Well, uh, uh— thank you. I have a lot help to offer anatomically— amanamonically— as-astronomically." He finally finished slapping a palm against his forehead. The smirk on the Captain's face only grew as she and the doctor made their way down to the main deck where the crew was still celebrating.

Once they sighted the Captain the crew gathered in a half-circle around her with smiles and laughs still occasionally bouncing through the small crowd.

"It seems your cabin girl did a bang-up job with those lifelines, Mr. Silver." The feline said with a smile. Silver elbowed Julie with a smile and she returned it with the same proud smile. No one noticed the final spider-like figure to finally join the 'horseshoe.'

"All hands accounted for, Mr. Arrow?" The Captain asked confidently. However, she was only met with silence.

"Mr. Arrow?"

Everyone glanced around, as if the large boulder-like first officer would suddenly appear among them. One crew member, that was not Mr. Arrow, stepped forward holding a familiar tricorn hat.

"I'm afraid Mr. Arrow…has been lost." Mr. Scroop said loud enough for everyone to hear. "His lifeline was not secured."

All eyes on the deck swiveled to the young woman who had been laughing and smiling a minute ago; missing the dark smile on the arachnid's face.

"N-no, I checked all of them." She said in disbelief. Julie pushed through the small crowd and looked around the places where all of the lifelines were tied and came to an empty space. She stopped and stared, feeling her heart sinking into her stomach.

"I checked them all…" She said weakly, looking back to the Captain. "…I swear."

The barely controlled swirl of emotions in Captain Amelia's eyes was all that she was met with before the Captain clenched her jaw tightly and looked down at the tricorn hat that belonged to her friend.

"Mr. Arrow was a…" She started to say. Clearing her throat and pushing down her emotions she continued. "A fine spacer. Finer than most of us could ever hope to be…but he knew the risks, as do we all. Resume your posts. We carry on."

After those few words, she directed the crew in gathering up the handful of bodies that still lay slumped on the deck or hanging lifelessly from the rigging.

—

Including Arrow, there had been five lives lost that day.

Four bodies lay on the deck. Each wrapped in a white sheet.

The Captain looked down at them. Silently standing next to them with the hat still grasped in her hands. The crew had slowly dispersed back to their tasks once the bodies were collected. Only a handful of crew, including William and Silver, stood nearby. Julie was nowhere to be found, having disappeared right after they gathered the bodies together. She hadn't said a word since earlier.

Captain Amelia beckoned over Will.

"Can you get me a list of their names, as well as gather together whatever personal belongings they had for the next of kin?" She asked quietly without looking up from the still forms, laying on the deck.

"Yes, ma'am." He said simply. "Is…there anything else you need?"

"No, that's all for the moment. Bring it to my cabin once you gather everything together. We can have a short ceremony for them later when everything is situated."

William nodded silently and moved to his task. Already narrowing down the places Julie was probably hiding so that he could find her as soon as possible.

—

The door to her cabin finally closed behind her with a thud.

Captain Amelia walked behind her desk and stood, facing out the stern windows that had been shattered. She still held Sam's tricorn hat tightly in her hands.

'All fires have been put out. All repairs that can be done for now are being taken care of. Mizzenmast and Mainmast are still mostly functional but, the Foremast was nearly snapped like a twig. Only 60% engine output is possible without burning out the engine.' She thought, while gripping the hat in her hands— desperately trying to keep her mind busy. 'We are weeks out from the nearest port capable of repairs of this scale. Hopefully we won't be preyed on by pirates on the way. Our food situation may get a bit tight but we should be able to manage.'

Her thoughts were cut short by a knock at the door. She responded without turning to see who it was.

"Enter." She heard the door open and close and footsteps leading up to her desk and stopping. "You can set the list of names on my desk. As far as the personal possessions—" The words died in her throat when she turned to see Dr. Doppler.

She quickly turned back around to face the window once again.

'Dammit.' She thought, consciously tightening the reigns on her emotions. 'Why is he…'

She heard foot steps come around the desk and come to a stop behind her.

'If it were anyone else…everything would be fine.' She thought, not daring to turn around. Her hands shook uncontrollably. 'How can he just…'

She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, slowly turning her to face him.

" _ **Amelia**_."

That was all it took.

A look. A touch. A single word.

Everything she had been pushing down came streaming out as she finally leaned against him and wept.

"What am I supposed to tell his family, Delbert?" She mumbled between sobs. "What am I supposed to tell his son?"

"That he was a fine spacer. Finer than most could ever hope to be." Delbert said softly, sliding his arms around her. "That he knew the risks, but came anyway to serve with his friend— because he was sterling, tough, honest, dependable, brave, and true."

—

Hours later— when most of the crew was pass out after dinner— William stepped out onto the deck. In one hand he held a plate of food; in the other was some first aid supplies.

Will spotted a certain cabin girl sitting on the bulwark on the bow. She sat hugging one knee to her chest and letting the other leg hang off the edge.

"Julie I brought some—"

"Go away."

'Still like this, huh.' He thought to himself. Will had gotten a similar reaction earlier when he had tried to talk to her. A guilty feeling wiggled itself into the forefront of his mind. 'This is all my fault. If only I had jumped sooner, maybe I could have…no, there's no use in thinking about that now.'

He set the first aid kit behind her on the deck. Still holding the plate in one hand, he used the newly empty hand to gently grab her shoulder. "Julie, I'm just trying to help. Come on, I brought you some food." He said trying to extend it for her to see.

"I don't need your _fucking_ _help_!"

The plate was smacked out of his hand— causing it to hit him in the face with enough force to shatter, throwing the food and sharp pieces in every direction. The shattered pieces lay on the deck, igniting a memory in the depths of Will's mind.

He blinked. The smell of an open sewer drifted through the broken window. Dried mud from the gutter stuck to his bare feet. He was looking down at the broken plate and the spilt food.

"Can't even do the simplest thing can you, worthless little shit?" A man's voice asked, dripping with venom and anger. He knew that voice. The tone. It held a dark promise. _**Punishment**_.

Will darted back and brought his shaking hands up to defend himself, but when he blinked again and looked around he was back on the deck of the _Legacy_. His breath was coming in ragged gasps, cold sweat was already on his skin and he felt warmth dripping down his chin from the cut a shattered piece of the plate had left on his lips. He looked around and only saw Julie; the anger on her face was slightly mixed with confusion as she turned looked at him in the low light— obviously confused by his reaction.

Before she could notice the blood on his face or see his violently shaking hands, he turned on his heel and walked below deck.

Julie was left alone once more; feeling more confusion come into her head to mix guilt and anger. She ran her fingers roughly through her hair and groaned in frustration.

"What the hell is wrong with me?"

She shifted her foot to return to her former position— looking at the universe as it drifted by but, her foot knocked over the first aid kit that Will had set on the deck.

More guilt wormed it's way into her mind as she picked up the small kit that the cabin boy had brought for the wounds on her hands and the cut on her cheek.

—

Julie didn't know how much more time passed before she heard another set of foot steps approach, behind her. This time she was sitting in the rigging that lead up to the yard arms and crow's nest. She looked down at her clumsily bandaged hands glumly.

The leg and arm made noise as he moved so it was easy to tell him apart from anyone else without needing to look. Silver leaned on the edge to look out at the passing scenery with her; he was carrying a small pipe that he puffed on occasionally.

"It weren't your fault, ya know." He stated, sending a glance up to the young woman who only responded with a heavy sigh. She knew she would have to talk about it at some point.

"Why, half te crew would be spinnin' in tat' black abyss—" He started to say before she jumped down to the bulwark he leaned on, making him take a step back.

"Look, don't you get it?!" She yelled, stepping down onto the deck as he retreated further. "I screwed up!"

She turned away from the cyborg and ran a hand roughly through her hair.

"For two seconds, I thought that maybe…" She let her eyes fall to the deck beneath her feet. "…that maybe, I could do something right for a change, but…Aagh! I just—" She stopped and just let out a defeated sigh. "Just forget it. Forget it." She finished weakly trying to blink away the tears that were close to falling.

Silver looked at the slumped shoulders of the young woman. He felt he needed to say something but, was still hesitant.

'Ta hell wit' it.' He thought as he reached out to put a hand on Julie's shoulder and turned her to face him. He adopted a firm tone in his voice.

"Now, you listen to me, Juliet Hawkins. You got the makin's of greatness in ya." Her eyes turned up to look at him. "But, you gotta take the helm and chart your own course! Stick to it, no matter the squalls; and when the time comes, and ya get the chance to really test the cut of your sails and show what you're made of…" He stood to his full height and spread his arms like he was basking in warm sunlight. "Well, I hope I'm there…catchin' some of the light comin' off ya that day."

She silently took a step closer to the cook and let her head fall against his stomach, finally letting the tears fall down her cheeks.

For a moment Silver was too stunned to move; caught between comforting her or stepping away. It did take more than a few seconds before he slid his arms around her and whispered quietly to her.

"There, there, Lass— it's all right Julie." He said a bit awkwardly at first. "It's all right."

After Julie calmed down again, Silver came to his senses and took a step back and cleared his throat. "Now, Julie, I—um…I best be gettin about my watch and you best be getting some shut-eye." He gently pushed her towards the stairs that lead below deck.

Julie glanced over her shoulder and gave him a small smile before descending the steps.

Silver leaned back against the bulwark as Morph chipped happily and sank down onto his shoulder.

"Gettin' in to deep here, Morphy." He said quietly to his semi-liquid companion; not knowing that above him, hidden in the rigging, was a pair of glowing eyes intently observing everything that had transpired. "Next thing ya know, they'll be saying I've gone soft."

—

Even though Julie was dead tired after the events of the day she sat awake in her hammock thinking about one thing.

Will.

'I need to apologize, first of all.' She thought to herself as she got up and walked over to his hammock. To her surprise she found it empty. 'Well, he might be going to the bathroom or something so I guess I will wait here.'

She sat down in his hammock; determined to see him and apologize but, 10 minutes later found her passed out in the young man's hammock— dreaming about the kiss the two had shared on the edge of the universe.

.


End file.
